PURPOSES OF MUSEUMS 123 
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 Juillard collection of ancient 
Peruvian pottery and textiles. 
There are at present about 3,700 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. 
Membership 
In the last edition of the Century Dictionary a museum is defined as: 
Desnition of “A collection of natural objects, or of those made or 
eure cum used by man, placed where they may be seen, preserved 
and studied. Neither the objects themselves nor the place 
where they are shown constitutes 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 of independent naturalists the actual specimens 
upon 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. 
Purposes of 
Museums 
