NATIONAL WORK AT BRITISH MUSEUM BATHER 631 



It would be possible to amplify the preceding sketch of the rela- 

 tions which museum work bears to the various branches of knowledge, 

 one might even extend the principles to the arts and crafts; but 

 enough has perhaps been said to explain the conclusions which fol- 

 low and to justify the dogmatic form in which they are cast. 



The first business of the museum is to afford a safe and permanent 

 home for collections of material objects. These may be acquired 

 through others, or the museum may with advantage send out its own 

 collectors. That is a question of administration; the essential duty 

 of the museum official is the preservation of the specimens intrusted 

 to him. 



The next business is to see that every specimen is furnished with 

 an indication of its original locality, mode of occurrence, and any 

 historical facts concerning it. Many ways of doing this are familiar 

 to curators. 



Then the specimens must be arranged in such a manner as to be 

 readily accessible for reference by accredited students. To ac- 

 complish this is required, first, a logical scheme of classification. 

 This scheme must be practicable for the curator, who is inevitably 

 governed by the mode of preservation of his specimens (e. g., in 

 spirit, or skins, or fossils). On the other hand, it must be in rela- 

 tion with the scheme adopted by the majority of students — what 

 they would admit as a " scientific " classification. The curator there- 

 fore must be familiar with scientific studies, and he must have such 

 knowledge as will enable him to perform the necessary preliminaries 

 of identifying and sorting. Since no museum in the world has a 

 staff large enough to permit of its officials having the detailed knowl- 

 edge required, every museum in greater or less degree is obliged to 

 call in the aid of specialists. The modes of obtaining this outside 

 help are various, but there is no need here to reveal the secrets of 

 diplomacy. However they be persuaded, such namers and sorters 

 are for the nonce museum workers. The official curator has to 

 gather up and apply the results of their labours. 



Next, for the museum to be of its full value to the scientific public, 

 especially to workers in other countries, it is necessary to publish 

 catalogues. These need not always rival the monographic volumes 

 issued by the British Museum, but they must follow the scientific 

 classification and must be something more than mere lists. Their 

 compilation requires critical judgment and thorough knowledge, so 

 that here, also, the services of outside helpers are needed. 



The constant acquisition of novelties that will not fit into existing 

 classifications, and the discovery of new facts concerning species or 

 objects long known, necessitate a perpetual revision of the systematic 

 arrangement. Hence the museum worker can be no mere recorder 

 of the obvious or converter of other men's labours, but is himself 



