THE FUNCTIONS OF MUSEUMS. 215 



The last function^ that of inspiring the layman with an interest 

 in the subject-matter of the museum, demands adherence to two leading 

 principles. First, only a few specimens should be shown, and those 

 the best obtainable. Secondly, the arrangement of the objects must 

 both arrest attention and give pleasure, so that the visit may be re- 

 peated. Here, then, we speak not so much of 'collection and exhibi- 

 tion' as of 'selection and display.' In these two respects, as well as 

 in minor details, such as the nature of the labels, the spaciousness of 

 the rooms and the absence of any need for handling, the requirements 

 of the lay public are, if not always opposed to, at least different from, 

 those of either investigators or students. 



Thus far then, we are, I trust, agreed not only that museums have 

 three distinct classes of visitors, but that the proper methods of fulfill- 

 ing those functions are likewise distinct. Possibly these considerations 

 may help the curator to find an answer, when he asks the question: 

 'What exactly is the object of my museum and how nearly do I 

 attain it?' 



The curator, however, may fear that, since museums are so various, 

 and the activities even of a single museum so numerous and diverse, 

 therefore the question can only admit of a confused and futile answer. 

 This complexity may be partly disentangled if he realizes that museums 

 may be classified in various ways. For instance, according to their 

 subject-matter, as of geology, fine-art, archeology, sanitation and the 

 rest. So far as this is concerned the answer to the question is in each 

 case obvious and needs no discussion here. 



Another point of view is that of their financial relations to the 

 community. A museum may be under national, provincial or munici- 

 pal control; it may be run by some semi-public body, — a university, a 

 local society, or a trade guild ; it may be a purely private concern 

 — the secluded treasure of a dilettante, the money-making show of a 

 company, or the freely open halls of a philanthropist. This classifica- 

 tion indicates the class of visitor for whom the museum is intended: 

 the guild museum for the members of a trade, the university museum 

 for the university student, and the state museum for 'all sorts and 

 conditions of men.' But the connection is not inevitable. 



Omitting other possible classifications, we find that the only one 

 bearing on the curator's problem is that according to the visitors either 

 actual or desired. In its main lines this follows our classification of 

 the functions of a museum under three heads. Few museums, however, 

 have their scope so rigorously defined, though in some cases, as just 

 suggested, it is, or should be, defined by circumstances. 



Perhaps the most usual restriction is to that group of functions above 

 comprehended under instruction. Here and here alone come the teach- 

 ing collections of a university, the technological museum for artisans. 



