[Conogre]

The topics of museum collections, displays, information and preservation have been discussed here in the past, and hopefully, will continue to be discussed in the future as well.
Likewise personal collections, preservation, display, disposition and motivation are also reoccuring topics that change as the membership changes, as does focus between regions and areas of intrest and the propriety of topics open for discussion, all of which I personally feel are of much more importance than many to most members realize.
Over and over, I've seen people who were pointed to this forum for information, often financially motivated, but none-the-less they came and more often than not were both impressed and thankful, almost invariably glad that they took the time.
While it may seem that this is moving away from the original topic, I think it's exactly the opposite, all leading to the fact that antiquities, both distant and recent, are rapidly disappearing and that above all, public interest has to be maintained in order for any change to be affected.
In the few years that I've been a member here, I've learned more than I ever dreamed possible and had my interest piqued each time it lagged, for whatever reason, and hopefully, this and other forums like it will continue to do so in the future, to the point that it may someday lead to museums and the laws pertaining to same being revised in countries around the world.
Since money is the prime motivator, whenever interest can be revived, be it by historically based motion pictures, educational television (which thankfully, seems to be on the increase), Ebay, antique shops, estate sales and of course, museum exhibits and collections all benefit by the sharing of knowledge and the revival of the urge to see and know about such things, particularly when it can be on a personal level.
I'd love to see the Home Shopping Network, for example, start buying and marketing individual collections on nationwide TV if it would lead to more and more pieces falling into the hands of the public where they could be cherished and valued, rather than stashed away in a catacomb somewhere, out of sight and lost, possibly forever.
All things have a finite existance, with articles often lasting longer than the knowledge and culture that surrounded them, from their creation, use (and abuse, where appropriate) and any interest that leads to discovery and preservation of same is bound to benificial to a certain extent, no matter how small.
If enough people descry the "lost collections" of museums, then possibly someday the laws will be changed and the vaults will be opened, viewed as another source of income, while individual collections continue at whatever level is possible, taking the future ahead for at least one more day at a time.Mike