Long range planning for natural history collections presumes a knowledge of the collections, and a sound and widely owned philosophy placing them firmly in cultural life, from which derive future roles, developments, and uses for collections. There is a large and rapidly growing body of information on collections, particularly in Australasia, Europe, and North America, which in part meets the first requirement. It provides a base for an evaluation of the motivation underlying collection development, subsequent history, use, and abuse. There is no widely accepted philosophical base for the use of natural sciences collections. Select case histories are used to identify seminal philosophical strands, which, woven together, could form the elements of a broadly based philosophy and indicate strategic policies and a wide range of future uses.