Notes and Comments. 293 



suggested that the Annual Conference of Museums Curators, 

 as a separate conference, be dispensed with, and that a combined 

 conference of Librarians and Museum Curators take its place. 

 This official seemed to be as ignorant of Museums and their 

 work as does this F.B., who apparently looks upon Museums 

 as excuses for getting extra funds for library purposes ! An 

 idea of the necessity of a library is shown by the fact that 

 in one large commercial city the Central Library, with 

 its reference rooms, reading rooms, lending rooms, etc., was 

 closed for a fortnight for ' cleaning.' The Museums in the 

 same city, which are as clean as any in the country, manage 

 to keep clean without inconveniencing the public a single 

 half -day in the year. But Museum Curators, as a rule, en- 

 deavour to oblige the public. 



MUSEUMS A LUXURY. 



With regard to one part of the Library Association Record's 

 effusion a writer in the Museums Journal for August states : — • 

 ' On present lines, museums are a luxury, according to F. B., 

 but libraries, apparently because they "have demonstrated what 

 they can do for commerce and industry," are a necessity. 

 This is the ever-recurring blunder of the " practical " man, 

 who always confuses the means with the end. Why do we 

 steep ourselves in commerce and industry ? For their own 

 sakes entirely ? Surely not. Let us take a pride in learning 

 to do our daily work well whatever it may be, and let museums 

 do all they can to help in practical affairs, but, for the sake 

 of humanity, do not let us end there. On the contrary, let 

 us bring our fellow men and women to regard the wage, or 

 salary, or dividend -earning pursuit, in which they are engaged, 

 largely as a way of providing themselves with the means to 

 indulge in just those higher recreations and elevating pursuits 

 for the furtherance of which museums and libraries alike stand.' 



THE LEICESTER MUSEUM. 



The reference to Leicester, in F. B.'s note, is evidently due to 

 a grievance F. B. has respecting the people at Leicester, who. 

 when they required a Chief Librarian recently, they appointed 

 the Museum Curator to the office. This is rather different 

 from the frequent procedure in the smaller towns, when the 

 Librarian, often without any museum experience or qualifica- 

 tion whatever, is appointed ' Curator ' ; usually because the 

 ' museum ' had to be kept out of the Library Funds, and was 

 often in one or two small rooms in the Library building. But 

 this is now being altered. Museums have no difficulty in 

 ' justifying their existence ' to the intelligent people in their 

 respective towns, and they are gradually and properly becoming 

 severed from the influence of Chief Librarians. As a rule, 

 the progressiveness of a town council can be gauged by the 



1921 Sept. 1 



