THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



dians of the Plains; 4 — Indians of the South- 

 west ; 5 — New England Birds and Nests, 

 and 6 — Life at the Seashore. In addition 

 to these regularly circulating sets, a few spe- 

 cial collections were prepared to meet the 

 needs of certain libraries. 



The "Springtune Collection" consists of 

 small habitat groups of the common birds, 

 such as robin, song-sparrow and goldfinch, 

 with nests and eggs, male and female parent 

 birds, and in addition shows peculiar habits 

 of several other birds such as nuthatch and 

 woodpecker. Common insects, batrachians, 

 turtles and snakes are also represented in 

 this collection. 



The "Eskimo Collection" consists of 

 thirty-nine pieces which give a fair represen- 

 tation of the life of the Eskimo. The "In- 

 dians of the Plains Collection" consists of 

 thirty-eight specimens, including household 

 utensils and articles of dress and emphasizing 

 the decorative art of the Indians as illustrated 

 by their work. The "Indians of the South- 

 west Collection" consists of forty pieces 

 illustrating the weaving and pottery-making 

 for which these Indians are especially noted. 

 The collection illustrating life at the sea- 

 shore comprises sea birds, shells, starfishes, 

 sea-urchins and other marine forms that can 

 readily be found along the seashore, the 

 principal object of interest being a minia- 

 ture lighthouse, about two feet in height, 

 showing a portion of the headland and beach 

 on which it stands. This collection was first 

 sent to the Fort Washington Branch of the 

 New York Public Library, and the following 

 quotation from a letter of the librarian shows 

 some of the results of cooperation between the 

 museum and one library : 



"We used the Museum collection as a basis 

 for the stories used in the work with our 

 older boys' club. Sea stories were told and 

 the ship models explained — rigging, masts, 

 etc. Adult visitors to the room were inter- 

 ested in the exhibit, and a member of the 

 Ubrary who had had interesting experiences 

 at sea, talked informally for an hour or so 

 about ships, to a group of about thirty boys. 

 A collection of books on aquatic animals, ad- 

 ventures at sea, sailors' yarns, poems deal- 

 ing with sea life, were put with the Museum's 

 collection. We had approximately one hun- 



dred and seventy circulations from this col- 

 lection. A bulletin of ' Stories of the Sea ' was 

 also posted. Kindergarten classes visiting 

 the children's room with teachers were shown 

 the exhibit in detail." 



Although some of the collections were not 

 completed at once and have been in circulation 

 but a short time, they have been seen by more 

 than 30,000 children. The number and vari- 

 ety of similar collections that may be prepared 

 is almost unlimited. It would be compara- 

 tively easy to prepare an exhibit illustrating 

 the methods of attracting birds around our 

 homes, such as are described in the many 

 books for bird lovers of which Wild Bird 

 Guests by Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes is a good 

 example. Many groups of books on geog- 

 raphy and travel could be given added interest 

 through a collection from a natural history 

 museum. 



The plans for the development of the work 

 during the present winter contemplate the 

 preparation of additional collections which 

 will be definitely correlated with the special 

 books in the children's libraries and particu- 

 larly with the story hour conducted by the 

 hbrarians. Cooperation along these lines is 

 particularly worthy of consideration for there 

 is little doubt that it will produce results of 

 great value to the children. 



The exhibits thus far planned have been de- 

 signed primarily for children. Similar exhibits 

 might well be prepared for adult readers. 

 In connection with a series of books on ama- 

 teur gardenmg a collection showing the injuri- 

 ious insects which so often frustrate the 

 ambitions of the tiller of the soil would not 

 only stimulate interest in this group of 

 books but also would convey much profitable 

 information. 



Similarly education on problems of public 

 health, as the campaign for the extermi- 

 nation of mosquito and fly, can be materi- 

 ally assisted by small exhibits from the 

 natural history museum, while large numbers 

 of exhibits could be prepared which would 

 visualize and vitalize books on useful arts, 

 fine arts, sociology, geography and travel. 



These are only a few of the ways in which 

 practical and effective cooperation may be 

 promulgated between libraries and the mu- 

 seum. 



