I have been reading messages on this topic with interest, because I too
straddle both professions. Until recently I worked at the Science Museum,
London, where as well as being in charge of the Library I was centrally
involved in developing systems to record and retrieve information about
museum objects.
I think that it is futile to try to draw rigid distinctions, because the
work that is done in museums, libraries and information services forms a
continuum and any person or institution can be positioned at any point on
that.
A few pointers which seem to me to distinguish different parts of the
landscape, however, are as follows:
1. Librarians are primarily concerned with information in textual form;
museum people are primarily concerned with physical objects.
2. For a librarian, the information content is the core element. A
photocopy, transcription, reprint, microfilm or electronic version is
generally equally as good as an original. For a museum, authenticity of the
physical object is crucial; museums have models and replicas, certainly,
but if they have no original objects they are not really museums. (They may
be "science centres" or the arts equivalent - another part of the
continuum).
3. Libraries which have collections of rare and unique publications, or
archives, have some museum aspects in their functions.
4. Collection of non-textual information, such as pictures or sounds, can
fall near to museums or to libraries, depending on whether the collection
is seen as "art originals" or "images". Is the important thing the physical
item or the "message" it contains?
5. Both museums and libraries have some techniques in common, particularly
in identifying and describing items, and recording them in a consistent way
so that they can be retrieved reliably when needed by a user. These
techniques were developed first in libraries and museums are now applying
them. There is some re-inventing of wheels, some building on what has been
done, and some leap-frogging (e.g. museums can learn from the problems of
libraries lumbered with poorly-structured subject heading schemes and build
good thesauri for themselves instead).
6. Libraries have traditionally given a higher profile to enquiry services,
seeing it as their responsibility to help users to find information;
whether it comes from their own library or elsewhere is not important - the
library is seen as a gateway to the national and international information
network.
Museums have traditionally dealt with enquiries in a less structured
way; individual curators deal with by them as they choose - sometimes
very detailed replies and personal research, sometimes nothing. Few museums
make the enquiry desk their focal point and staff it permanently with
professionals.
7. Museums have traditionally taken the initiative in presenting their
material to the public and telling a story; librarians have done this in
publications and displays, but they have given priority to the agenda set
by the enquirers who take the initiative of approaching them.
9. Libraries always have publicly-accessible catalogues of their
collections, and are expected to produce any item for consultation on
demand; few museums can do this.
All this is history, though. We should not be looking for differences which
divide but for similarities which unite. As long as we have a clear mission
statement, we should use all the techniques we can find to achieve it, and
so long as we are able to apply them competently we need not worry too much
about professional labels.
Regards
Leonard
--
Dr Leonard D Will Tel: +44 181 366 7386
Information Management Consultant Fax: +44 181 366 0916
27 Calshot Way, ENFIELD, Middlesex Email: [log in to unmask]
EN2 7BQ, United Kingdom
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