Museums are running out of storage. Donations may be making it worse [Video]

Lovers of art and history can spend hours or even days at their local museum, examining hundreds or thousands of exhibits and artifacts on display.

But patrons might be disappointed to know what they see is likely only a tiny fraction of the museum’s collection. In storage are more art and artifacts than the public will ever see, and those collections are growing faster than museums can handle.

“Storage is a challenge for every big and small collecting museum on this continent. They’re bursting,” said Nicholas Bell, CEO of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

Museums in Canada face several challenges to housing and preserving their collections, let alone displaying those items. And overcrowding is becoming a bigger issue, experts say, from what might be a surprising source — Canadians donating way more fine art and artifacts than the museums can possibly use.

The Glenbow has been closed to the public …