The Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection is kept in trust for the public, with the goal that it will be viewed, studied, and enjoyed for generations to come. Because works of art are fragile, the museum's conservation staff—working in specially-equipped facilities—plays a vitally important role in their protection. As the scope of the collection has enlarged, so has the responsibility of its conservators. The founding collections of the Guggenheim Museum focused on paintings and works of art on paper, and in the 1950s the museum began to collect modern sculpture. Most recently, the museum has broadened the scope of its collecting to include all types of contemporary art.