Museums of archaeology, history, science, saw their sites as educational institutions, with a responsibility to create knowledge through the development and research of collections, and then to disseminate that knowledge through the provision of formal scholarly displays. However, if the museum profession is to talk about purpose at the start of the twenty-first century, the focus must be on audiences and on the role of museums in society. A key step along the route is for the museum to cease to be product-led and become audience-centred in approach. Museums need to talk to people on a regular basis and be flexible enough to respond to their needs. Equally, through the visitors' stay, museums must be able to respond to their expectations in a way that meets the increasingly high demands of audiences accustomed to quality service standards elsewhere and to insist that these are provided by museums.