It's the eternal problem of valuable and interesting old stuff in
times of limited resources.  We need either a massive new fully-funded
museum project or some way to pass along the wonderful volunteer spirit
and interest in the instruments of (mostly) the older generation to
a younger and larger group.

I think England has a lesson to learn from here in how they have dealt
with historic properties in the National Trust.  The great houses that
are passed to the Trust are still lived-in, but preserved and are at
least partially on public view.  The National Trust also depends heavily
on local volunteers, and they also tend to be of a certain age, but it
does seem to work.  I don't know how this template could be applied to
mechanical music preservation, but it would certainly be worth a try.

If the people and the will is there, perhaps state-owned and maintained
instruments could be placed in protected-but-playable ways in public
spaces, building foyers etc. and switched around periodically. It might
start to generate new interest and bring the major support and change
needed.

Jim Katz - in Montreal, where I don't know of a single museum that has
a working mechanical musical instrument.