The Converging Histories and Futures of Libraries, Archives, and Museums as Seen through the Case of the Curious Collector Myron Eells

The etymologies of the words archive, library, and museum reveal the antiquity of these words as well as their semantic evolutions over time. An archive, initially an ancient office building, is now associated with historical records and the places that preserve them. A library, a term once connected with ancient writing material or products, now con notes printed books and the places that provide access to them. And museums, originally places for worshiping the Muses, have become col lections of historical, scientific, artistic, or other cultural objects and the places that exhibit them. These evolving meanings suggest a rich history that began soon after communications began to be preserved in writing, some five millennia ago, and continues into the present as libraries, ar chives, and museums (LAMs) continue to collect, preserve, and provide access to records, books, and other artifacts so that members of each new generation may understand the past and present and prepare for the future.