NEW STORAGE ROOMS 



PREPARATIONS FOR KEEPING UNHARMED FOR A MILLENIUM SOME OF 

 THE MUSEUM'S MOST VALUABLE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



By Pliny E. Goddard 



AS the years pass, one phase of the 

 Museum's responsibiUty toward 

 future generations becomes more 

 emphatic. Its duty to the general 

 pubhc of the present generation is met 

 in its exhibition halls in which the col- 

 lections are displayed arranged by locali- 

 ties and tribes. Its duty to a smaller 

 public of this and succeeding generations 

 is met in its research work made availa- 

 ble in the several series of publications. 

 Specimens tell but a small part of a 

 people's activity and thought, and by 

 themselves are more or less meaningless. 

 This work of research however is largely 

 based upon specimens. 



The primitive peoples of the earth are 

 passing with ever increasing rapidity. 

 Whole tribes even are becoming extinct. 

 All over the world the old occupations 

 and customs are being discarded in 

 favor of European civilization. This 

 means that in a few years we shall not 

 be able to secure ethnological specimens 

 from native sources. 



In 1908 twenty-four storerooms were 

 built under the eaves of the west wing 

 and proved fairly satisfactory, but failed 

 in not being sufficiently tight to exclude 

 insects or to permit thorough treatment 

 with gases to destroy the insects after 

 infection had taken place. Those rooms 

 having outside walls proved to be too 

 damp for general purposes. Also the 

 space provided by ihese rooms furnished 

 storage for only a small part of the ma- 

 terial needing especial care. 



To meet this need sixteen new storage 

 vaults have just been completed in the 

 sixth story of the southwest pavilion. 

 They ere arranged in two rows, back to 



back, and two stories in height, galleries 

 and stairways of metal furnishing easy 

 access to the upper tier. This arrange- 

 ment provides ample space between the 

 walls and roof of the building and the 

 storerooms, protecting the specimens 

 from moisture. The rooms themselves 

 are of concrete with tightly closing metal 

 doors rendering them fairly fireproof and 

 entirely proof against insects and dust. 

 If infection should take place through 

 open doors or from the introduction of 

 fresh material, cyanide gas can be 

 generated in the rooms with entire 

 safety, A room after being charged 

 with poisonous gas can be thoroughly 

 cleared by means of a permanent venti- 

 lating arrangement and electric fans. 



The material stored in these rooms 

 will in part be used for future exhibition 

 when other halls are provided by the 

 construction of the projected additions 

 to the building. A large number of 

 specimens however, will probably al- 

 ways be retained in storage because it is 

 not necessary to display very extended 

 series of related specimens and because 

 very rare specimens ought not to be ex- 

 posed to the risk of general exhibition. 

 While in storage these specimens should 

 be easily accessible to the special student, 

 both to save time in looking for them 

 and to prevent the deterioration result- 

 ing from constant handling. The new 

 and old storerooms have been appor- 

 tioned to the large culture areas. 



With the exception of skin clothing of 

 native tanning, containing in some cases 

 the elements of chemical decay, our 

 collections ought to show little deterio- 

 ration in a millenium. 



73 



