ON THE PROVINCIAL MUSEUMS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. 119 



First-class museums, being more efficiently officered, do not require 

 so much outside assistance, and in many cases the position of the curator 

 is such that he could not submit to the supervision of an amateur. 



Where the museum is in connection with a free Hbrary, the two 

 offices of Hbrarian and curator are frequently combined. This may be 

 an economy, but it is rarely satisfactory for the museum. The hbrary 

 is usually regarded as the more important institution ; the officer is 

 chosen as a librarian chiefly, the larger proportion of space and funds 

 are devoted to the library, and the museum is not conducted with the 

 necessary vigour, and often falls into disrepute. On the other hand, there 

 is considerable advantage in having the two institutions under the same 

 roof, as the library is then available for the staff and the students of the 

 museum, and the museum is as a book of plates close at hand to illus- 

 trate the volumes in the library. 



Museums belonging to local societies are often without any paid staff 

 or even an attendant, the whole work being performed by members, but 

 with the regular admission of the public comes, of course, the necessity of 

 regular and therefore of paid attendance. 



Rate-supported museums are generally open to the public five or six 

 days a week. It is necessary to close them at intervals for cleaning, 

 and there is much variation in the arrangements made for this purpose. 

 Some museums take two days quarterly, some one day monthly or weekly, 

 some open later in the morning and get the cleaning done day by day 

 without closing, some close one room at a time only, others open only 

 four days a week for the general public and two days for students, and 

 most of the cleaning can be done on the comparatively quiet students' 

 days. 



The usual hours of opening are from 10 till dusk if the museum has 

 no artificial light, from 10 till 8 or 9 if there is gas. The longest hours 

 are reported from Canterbury, where the museum is open from 9 A.M. 

 till 10 P.M. In museums belonging to local societies the hours vary 

 greatly, many being only open to the public on two or three afternoons 

 weekly. Malvern College admits the public to its museum for two hours 

 only on Thursdays ; but generally in these semi-private museums admis- 

 sion may be obtained by special application. In first-class museums the 

 staff are generally in attendance for an hour or two before the time of 

 opening to the public, and where the museum belongs to the corpoi-a- 

 tion, one or two policemen are frequently on duty either all day or at 

 certain hours, in addition to the regular staff. The bye-laws of some 

 museums authorise the curator to exclude young children either alto- 

 gether or except in proper charge. 



From Birmingham comes a suggestion that the staff of every large 

 museum ought to be regularly drilled as a fire-brigade. 



7. Tenure of Buildmgs. — The great majority of provincial museums of 

 all kinds are lodged in freehold buildings, about twenty hold their pre- 

 mises on lease and twenty as annual tenants, nearly the whole of these 

 museums being the property of societies or individuals. In only two 

 reported instances are rate -supported museums kept in rented buildings, 

 and in these the arrangement is not intended to be permanent. 



8. Superficial Area. — There is some difference of opinion as to the 

 respective advantages of large halls and of rooms of moderate size for 

 museum purposes. Museums have been erected on both systems. In the 

 majority of the newer buildings the large-hall system has been adopted, 



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