202 Memorial of George Brozvn Goodc. 



III.— THE FIVE CARDINAL NECESSITIES IN MUSEUM 

 ADMINISTRATION. 



A museum can not be established and creditably maintained without 

 adequate provision in five directions : 



(a) A stable organization and adequate means of support. 



((^) A definite plan, wisely framed in accordance with the opportuni- 

 ties of the institution and the needs of the community for whose benefit 

 it is to be maintained. 



{c) Material to work upon — good collections or facilities for creating 

 them. 



(^) Men to do the work — a staff of competent curators. 



(^) A place to work in — a suitable building. 



(/) Appliances to work with — proper accessories, installation mate- 

 rials, tools, and mechanical assistance. 



A. — STABII.ITY OP ORGANIZATION. 



1 . The only absolute assurance of permanence for a museum lies either 

 in governmental protection, or in a connection with some endowed 

 institution of learning, or in special organization with ample endowments. 



2. The cabinets of unendowed societies, or those gathered and sup- 

 ported by the efforts of individuals, must inevitably in time be dispersed 

 or destroyed. 



B. — DEFINITENESS OF PLAN. 



1. No two museums can be or ought to be exactly alike. Each should 

 be devoted to one or more special subjects, and should select those subjects 

 not only with reference to opportunity and the needs of the community, 

 but also with regard to the specialties of other museums in the same 

 region with a view to cooperation. 



2. It is the duty of every museum to be preeminent in at least one 

 specialty, be this specialty never so limited. 



3. The specialties or departments of any museum may be few or many, 

 but it is important that its plan should be positively defined and limited, 

 since lack of purpose in museum work leads in a most conspicuous way 

 to a waste of effort and to partial or complete failure. 



4. It will undoubtedly be found desirable for certain museums, founded 

 for local uses, to specialize mainly in the direction of popular education. 

 If they can not also provide for a certain amount of scholarly endeavor 

 in connection with the other advantages, it would be of the utmost 

 importance that they should be associated (by a system of cooperation) 

 with some institution which is in the position of being a center of original 

 work. 



5. The general character of a museum should be clearly determined at 

 its very inception. Specialization and division of labor are essential for 

 institutions as well as for individuals. It is only a great national museum 



