Low light levels and an infestation of bugs and mice are endangering collections at the Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton.
Brighton and Hove city council's Museums Strategic Forward Plan 2009-2012 states that the Booth Museum collections are at risk, referring to the museum building as a "time capsule" that may not be the best environment for the collections.
The report also says the museum suffers from being in a location that is out of the city centre and mostly residential, leading to a limited number of passing visitors. The museum had 24,770 visitors in 2007-08, falling to 23,194 in 2008-09.
A council spokeswoman said: "The Royal Pavilion and Museums' Forward Plan is a planning report which is honest and realistic about the issues which need addressing in the long term. We would like to show more of the collections and have better access for researchers to these designated collections.
"We need to think as imaginatively as possible about how to best care for this important material, how to make it accessible to the public and as a resource to the scientific community."
Brighton and Hove city council's Museums Strategic Forward Plan 2009-2012 states that the Booth Museum collections are at risk, referring to the museum building as a "time capsule" that may not be the best environment for the collections.
The report also says the museum suffers from being in a location that is out of the city centre and mostly residential, leading to a limited number of passing visitors. The museum had 24,770 visitors in 2007-08, falling to 23,194 in 2008-09.
A council spokeswoman said: "The Royal Pavilion and Museums' Forward Plan is a planning report which is honest and realistic about the issues which need addressing in the long term. We would like to show more of the collections and have better access for researchers to these designated collections.
"We need to think as imaginatively as possible about how to best care for this important material, how to make it accessible to the public and as a resource to the scientific community."
