PURPOSES OF MUSEUMS 125 



The Membership Fund, derived from the subscriptions of Members, 

 may be devoted to any purpose and is of particular importance in the 

 educational work of the Museum. 



Voluntary contributions may be used for general purposes or for such 

 special object as the donor may designate ; some of the most valuable and 

 important collections have been obtained by such gifts, as for example 

 the Morgan collection of gems and the Juilliard collection of ancient 

 Peruvian pottery and textiles. 



There are at present about 4,700 members. Annual Members con- 

 , . tribute $10 a year for the support of the Museum; Life 

 Members make a single contribution of $100. Member- 

 ship fees are of great service in promoting the growth of the institution. 

 In the last edition of the Century Dictionary a museum is defined as : 

 "A collection of natural objects, or of those made or used by man, 

 Definition of placed where they may be seen, preserved, and studied. 

 a Museum Neither the objects themselves, nor the place where 

 they are shown, constitute a museum; this results from the com- 

 bination of objects, place, and purpose, display being an essential feature. 

 The objects, or specimens, may be shown for general purposes only, or for 

 the illustration of some subject or idea, the tendency of modern museums 

 being, by the display of objects and the manner in which they are 

 arranged and labeled, to illustrate some fact in nature or in the history of 

 mankind." 



And E. Ray Lankester as Director of the British Museum of Natural 

 History stated that: 



"The purposes of a great national museum of natural history are: 

 (1) To procure by its own explorers or by the voluntary assistance 

 Purposes of of independent naturalists the actual specimens upon 

 Museums which accurate knowledge of the animals, plants, and 

 minerals of the earth's surface, and more especially of the national 

 territory, is based; to preserve and arrange these collections for study 

 by all expert naturalists, and to facilitate, directly or indirectly, the 

 publication (in the form of catalogues or monographs) of the knowledge 

 so obtained — with a view to its utilization, not only in the progress of 

 science, but in the service of the State. (2) To exhibit in the best 

 possible way for the edification of the public, at whose charges these 

 collections are made and maintained, such specimens as are fitted for 

 exposure in public galleries, with a view to the intelligent and willing- 

 participation of the people in the maintenance of the Museum." 



As the Museum is emphatically "for the people," special attention 

 is given to making the exhibits attractive and interesting as well as 

 instructive. 



