MUSEUM, TYPES OF

varieties of institutions dedicated to preserving and interpreting the material aspects of human activity and the environment. Such a broad range of activities can be conducted by a wide variety of institutions, which, for purposes of description and discussion, it is often convenient to group according to type. However, with their diverse origins, varying philosophies, and differing roles in society, museums do not lend themselves to rigid classification. Certain museums provide for a specialist audiencefor example, children, societies, universities, or schools. Some have particular responsibilities for a defined geographic area, such as a city or region. Others may offer unusual perspectives, resulting in alternative interpretations of artistic, historical, or scientific collections. (This last can occur at museums where the primary ethos is nationalistic, religious, or political.) Sometimes museums are classified according to the source of their funding (e.g., state, municipal, private), particularly in statistical work. Classifying by source of funding, however, fails to indicate the true character of the museums' collections. For example, institutions funded by the national governmentnational museumsmay hold outstanding international collections, as do the British Museum, the Hermitage, and the Louvre; may hold specialized collections, as do a number of the national museums of antiquities on the European continent; or may have an essentially local character, as does the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Neighborhood Museum in Washington, D.C. An analysis of museums based on the nature of their collections, although it fails to indicate disparities of scale and quality, does have the merit of distinguishing between general and specialized museums. In addition, by emphasizing collections, this method focuses on the very raison d'tre of museums. In this article, museums are classified into five basic typesgeneral, natural history and natural science, science and technology, history, and art. The basic characteristics of each type are described in turn. At the end of each descriptive section, links are provided to entries on significant museums of that type. A new development, which transcends all types of museums by virtue of its unique electronic presentation, is described separately in the entry virtual museum. Geoffrey D. Lewis Additional reading Until recently the information relating to museums has been much dispersed, but detailed studies are now being published in book form. The following list identifies some of the literature available.Directories of museums providing worldwide coverage include Bettina Bartz, Helmut Opitz, and Elisabeth Richter (eds.), Museums of the World, 4th rev. and enlarged ed. (1992); and Kenneth Hudson and Ann Nicholls, The Directory of Museums & Living Displays, 3rd ed. (1985), including zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, and living history farms. Susan Peters et al. (eds.), Directory of Museums in Africa (1990), in English and French; International Council of Museums, Directory of Museums in the Arab Countries, 1995 (1995), also in English and French, and Directory of Museums of the Asia-Pacific Countries, vol. 1 (1993), covering Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, provide lists for these regions. A number of national museum directories are published, including Museums Yearbook, published by the Museums Association and covering museums in the United Kingdom; and The Official Museum Directory (annual), published by the American Association of Museums for museums of art, history, and science. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) also publishes several directories of specialized museums, including International Repertory of Glass Museums and Glass Collections (1966); Hugo G. Rodeck (compiler), Directory of the Natural Sciences Museums of the World (1971); and Jean Jenkins (ed.), International Directory of Musical Instrument Collections (1977).The most comprehensive bibliographic listing is International Museological Bibliography (annual), maintained by the ICOM, and is also available on CD-ROM. A number of other bibliographies are published, such as Simon J. Knell (compiler and ed.), A Bibliography of Museum Studies, 11th ed. (1994); Michael Steven Shapiro and Louis Ward Kemp (eds.), The Museum: A Reference Guide (1990); and Peter Woodhead and Geoffrey Stansfield, Keyguide to Information Sources in Museum Studies, 2nd ed. (1994). Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (semiannual) provides abstracts on museum techniques within these fields. Istvn ri and Bla Vgh (eds.), Dictionary of Museology (1986), lists museum terms in 20 languages.General periodicals include Museum International (quarterly); I C O M News (quarterly); Curator (quarterly); Museum Management and Curatorship (quarterly); Museums Journal (quarterly); Museum News (bimonthly); and Museum Practice (3/yr.).Museum operations in various types of museums are considered in Susan Pearce (ed.), Art in Museums (1995); Stella V.F. Butler, Science and Technology Museums (1992); Peter Davis, Museums and the Natural Environment: The Role of Natural History Museums in Biological Conservation (1996); Gaynor Kavanagh, History Curatorship (1990); and Susan M. Pearce, Archaeological Curatorship (1990). Geoffrey D. Lewis