Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/31

 CHAPTER II NTIL our American Trustees realize that the architect is not an omniscient being, blunders are going to be made In our museums. So far, few architects have specialized in museum buildings and the subject is so vast that it cannot be mastered offhand. It is the part of the museum specialist, the director, to guide the architect in the development of the plans. American museums are at a disadvantage because the exact line of their growth cannot be forecasted, but the only way by which a museum can be thoroughly consistent and adapted to its uses, is by having an understanding first of exactly what those uses are to be! To meet this difficulty the Director should study the conditions, and consult with the Trustees in regard to the possibilities in the city in which the museum is located. Therefore, the first step in planning a new museum is not to open a competition for the design of the building, but to choose a Director. Who the architect is, matters very little after that, provided both he and the Director understand their 13