824 kp:i'()UT ok national museum, 1!)03= 



EFFORTS OF THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS TO 

 INCREASE THEIR USEFULNESS." 



[The foUowiii!^ observations, written by Doctor Meyer since the above introduction to the present 

 work was printed, are added as of interest herein.] 



Thci-0 arc in the United States 8,000 public lil^rarie.s containing 

 60,(»00,00<) volumes. Sixty of these libraries contain over 100,000 

 volunuvs each, and four of them have 500,000 each.'^ The increase in 

 the luunbei' of public museums does not keep pace with this amazing 

 increase in the number of- libraries, although it has often been recom- 

 mended that a small popular nuiseum be attached to each public library.'^ 

 There are 350 public museums, of which 250 are natural history muse- 

 ums.'' Germany has perhaps 500 or more, among them 150 natural 

 history museums.' Of the latter, France has 300,-^" and Great Britain 

 250. f'' Of the 250 natural history nuiscums in the United States, 175 

 ttelong to schools and universities, 30 to learned societies, 30 are State 

 museiuns, and 15 are maintained by private individuals or are sup- 

 ported b}^ municipal funds. The State of New York, with 7,000,000 

 inhabitants, has thirty-one natural history museums; Pennsylvania with 

 (5,000,000, nineteen; Massachusetts with 3,000,000, seventeen; Illinois 

 Avith 5,000,000, fifteen; Ohio with 1:,000,000, fourteen; California with 

 1,500,000, ten;'' etc. The natural history museums, therefore, by 

 virtue of their number, already play an important part not only as 

 scientific museums, but also as a means of popular education, when we 

 consider the efforts being made to serve the entire community. This 

 will be evident from the following l)rief account: 



Exhlhit'wn collections. — As far back as 1860, L. Agassiz, perhaps 



"Translated from A. B. Meyer: Das Bestreben der ainerikanischeii naturwisscn- 

 sfhaftliflien Museen, breiten Schichten des Volks zu dienen. ( Verbesserter Sonder- 

 abdruck aiis: Die Museen als Volksbildungsstiitten. Berlin, 1904, pp. 93-96. 



''Report of the Commissioner of Fxlucation, 1899-1900, Washin>j;ton, I, 1901, p. 923; 

 E. I. Antrim, The latest Stage of Library Development, Forum, 1901, XXXI, p. 337. 



('See B. W. S. Jevons, Methods of Social Reform, London, 1883, p. 77, and E. S. 

 Morse, If public Libraries, why not public Museums? Report U. S. National Museum, 

 1893, pp. 7G9-780, Washington, 1895. Also W. J. Conklin, The Union of Library 

 and Museum, Public IJhnmes, VIII, 1903, pp. 3-8; F]. W. (laillard. The Beginning of 

 Museum Work in Libraries, ib., idem. pp. 9-11, and A. II. Hopkins, The Link between 

 Lil)rary and Museum, ib., idem, pp. 13-15. 



''A complete list is contained in A. G. Meyer, Scinirc, new ser., XVII, p. 843, 

 New York, 1903. F. J. IL Merrill, Natural History Museums of the United States 

 and Canada; New York State Museum Bulletin No. 62, 1903. This list names 242. 



'' Forrer and Fischer, Adressl)uch der Museen u. s. w. 1897; Jahrbuch der bililendeu 

 Kunst, 1903; Friedliinders Zoologisches. Adressbuch, 2 volumes, 1895 and 1901; R. 

 Mielke, Museen und Sammlungen, Anhang, 1903, and others. 



./'Annuaire des Musees scientifiques et archeologi(]ues, Paris, 1900. 



f/Thc Reportofthe British Associatidu, Manchester (1887), London, 1888, pp. 97-130. 

 Herein are listed 211 nniseums, of which 190 are natural history institutions. 



