The rHnciples of Aiiiscnui Adniinistratioji. 235 



some method of excluding the general public from the alcove ni wliich 

 the party is for the time engaged. 



3. Formal lectures in the lecture hall of the nutseum, illustrated by 

 specimens withdrawn from the cases, are exceedingl)^ useful, although 

 they reach but a limited numl)er of persons. Such lectures are most 

 useful when in courses and devoted to a special topic; still better when 

 they are addressed to a particular class in theconnnunit}', as, for instance, 

 the teachers in public .schools. 



Comment. — The courses carried on at the American Museum of Natural History 

 in connection with the normal-school system of the State of New York are an 

 example. 



4. In university towns the use of the lecture room and the illustrative 

 resources of the museiun ma}- to good advantage be placed at the disposal 

 of the professors and their classes. 



5. A member of the staff may sometimes do good service b\' in\'iting a 

 grotip of visitors to his laboratory, in order to explain, with the use of 

 specimens and reference Ijooks, some special point upon which the\' seek 

 information. 



B. — HANDBOOKS AND GUIDEBOOKS. 



1. The handbook and guidebook supplement the label system, and 

 used in connection with labels render still more unnecessary the services 

 of a guide. 



2. The guidebook, properly speaking, is a brief manual in which the 

 plan of the museum and the general character of its contents are described. 

 It should have diagrams of buildings, showing the location of the variotis 

 halls and their uses, and diagrams when necessary of the halls, showing 

 the system of arrangement. The guidebook, in short, is a general label 

 for the museum as a whole. Since guidebooks are usuall}- kept as souve- 

 nirs, they should contain a certain amount of descriptive and historical 

 matter, and pictures of the building and of some of its most notable 

 treasures. 



3. The handbook relates to a jwrtion of the nuiseum, cither a depart- 

 ment or a special collection within the department, and should present 

 the information conveyed by the exhibition labels belonging to the branch 

 to which it relates. 



When a collection has been well labeled, a complete handbook may l)e 

 made simply by combining the labels in proper order and printing them. 

 If the collection is complete and well selected, the handbook describing 

 it becomes an encyclopaedic manual of the subject illustrated. 



Printed catalogues, such as have already been referred to, often fulfdl 

 the fimction of handbooks, though usually too technical for that jHirpose. 



The catalogue should l)e technical and exhaustive and adapted for the 

 use of the professional student. When it relates to a large collection, 

 and especially w'hen illustrated, it is too large to be convenient for 

 general use. 



