GENERAL ACTIVITIES OF THE MUSEUM 
By W. H. Collins 
Until 1916 the Geological Survey of Canada, of which the present 
National Museum was then a part, published an annual Summary Report 
in one volume. These reports consisted of the Director’s administrative 
report to the Government, followed by reports of officers of the Survey 
dealing with investigations of more than ordinary economic or scientific 
interest. The administrative part contained an account of the field work, 
accession of specimens, and all other Museum activities and the special 
technical reports included some on Museum subjects. 
These Summary Reports increased in size with the growth of the 
Survey until those issued between 1910 and 1916 were volumes of from 
400 to 500 pages. They required a long time for publication and an 
unusually large edition was required, since no provision existed for issuing 
separates of their constituent articles. Hence, under the accentuated need 
for economy during the war period, it was decided in 1917 to issue the 
Summary in parts, Part A containing the administrative report and the 
other parts containing the special reports of field officers grouped according 
to the main geographical divisions of Canada. For some less apparent 
reason, perhaps because Museum activities were brought nearly to a 
standstill during the latter years of the war, special articles on Museum 
subjects ceased to appear in the subdivided Summary Reports. 
In 1920 anthropological and biological work was separated from the 
Geological Survey and placed under a Director of the Victoria Memorial 
Museum, and there were numerous other changes in the personnel of the 
Department of Mines. One consequence was that an annual administra- 
tive report for the whole department was inaugurated in 1921 to take the 
place of the separate administrative reports by the Geological Survey and 
the Mines Branch. 
Since 1921 the only periodical account of the Museum activities of the 
Survey and Museum has been a statement in the annual administrative 
report of the department, which dealt briefly with both business and 
scientific affairs. This arrangement had some disadvantages. As the 
annual administrative report is essentially a business report intended for 
the information of the Government, matters of scientific character may 
be treated only in the barest outline and, even then, are not likely to 
come to the attention of fellow scientists in other institutions. The 
present volume represents an endeavour to remedy this condition by 
providing the National Museum with an annual report of its own corre- 
sponding to the annual Summary Report of the Geological Survey and 
to contain the kind of information about the Museum which used to be 
included in the Summary Reports of the Survey before 1917. It is intended 
to issue a volume each year which will acquaint fellow workers in other 
Museums and scientific institutions and the interested individuals with 
what is being accomplished by the National Museum of Canada. For 
information about business affairs readers are referred to the annual reports 
of the Department of Mines. 
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