Should there be a free access to all museums worldwide?

In the UK many major London museums are free and, since several contain artefacts from around the world, the fact that a global tourist destination like London gives free access to such things to the world populace is undoubtedly the right thing to do, if possible. However, museums are expensive. The cost of preserving and protecting not just the exhibits but the 80-90% of the collections that most museums hold that are not available to the public is considerable. And this cost must becovred, if not by visitors, then either by charitable donations or by the state. In the US a tradition of philanthropic giving by the rich to the arts and museums, plus ample tax breaks for donations, creates a good source of income for many large museums. In the UK national lottery grants and state grants tend to underpin the large free museums. However many smaller museums are forced to find income though charging for access, which then also makes them less appealing to visit.

Underpinning all of this is not simply the desirability of getting more people to visit museums but also the vital importance of preserving the material culture of human history. Museums play a similar role to zoos in natural history, in that they are not just a place to see and to learn but also have a role in preserving. Without museums actively maintaining precious artefacts from history many would decay or perish and be lost for ever. Keeping these items available for future generations (who may, with new technologies and techniques, be able to learn new things about our histor from them) is vital for us to understand our shared history. As such it's something that really should be paid for. Once a historical artefact is lost it's lost forever.

Free museums can encourage a positive attitude from the [ublic towards learning about, and ths preserving, our history. Also relying on charging the public, when this may discourage visitors, means that a museums ability to protect the artefacts that it is its duty to preserve, wil depend on its free market ability to sell itself, possibly not the best way to choose which, if any, of the artefacts of our shared hisory on the Earth should be preserved.