Attendance Best Way to Aid Burbank Museum

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County went into its Burbank location with high hopes. Unfortunately, the Burbank branch has not drawn nearly the attendance we had hoped. In October, only 566 visitors came; some days the entire attendance was three.

Your editorial (“A Simple Solution,” Dec. 10) said that the solution was easy: Just install a permanent exhibit. Apparently you were not aware that we have tried that: We have had in the Burbank branch for nearly one year a fine exhibit of Native American arts and crafts. Museum professionals, and common sense, would tell you that a museum attracts more visitors with changing exhibits so that there is something new to see periodically.

We hope to stay in Burbank, but to do so we need financial assistance to cover our loss, which is running at an annual rate of up to $300,000. If the museum is important to Burbank, it does not seem unfair for us to ask that it be demonstrated in the way that most counts.

JAMES L. POWELL

Powell is president and director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.