"The future is bleak because eventually museums will be doing what museums do in America, which is selling stuff wholesale, " Lee says.

BBC: Should councils cash in on art?

In the editorial to this issue, Herman van Hooff, Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, underscores the importance of museums and cultural centers as vectors of cultural values, knowledge and identities, and their contribution to investment, economic benefits and job generation.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Founded in 1707, prior to the establishment of national museums, libraries and galleries in Britain, the society is exhibiting over 140 objects from its collection in North America for the first time.

FORBES: Copy Of 'Magna Carta' On Display In New Haven