Abstract
[full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English] The article deals with the problematic theoretical aspects of book museums (their functions, types, specificity in the context of other museums, similarities with the library divisions of documentary heritage) and examines the issues related to the establishment, development, registration and spread of book museums in Europe in the second half of the 20th century. It has been discovered that although the functions of the book museum and the special documentary heritage library divisions (Rare Books and Manuscript Divisions) are very similar or even overlap (preservation, study and actualization of the documentary heritage) and the difference between them is minimal, the level of significance of the functions (priorities) being the hallmark of the book museum and library heritage divisions. In the attempt to determine the development of the book museum, the analysis of a directory on the development of museums, entitled Museums of Books and Bookmaking: International Directory, published in 1987 and regarded as historiographically valuable material, was undertaken. The information about universal European book museums provided in the above directory was compared with today’s situation. The conclusion has been drawn that an interest in book museums in the second half of the 20th century was a natural outcome of the development of book science of that time. The pace of establishing book museums was directly linked to the intensification of book science as a viable scientific discipline in European and global science. The topic of book museums in the field of the book science of those days was extremely popular. At the time, the largest number of book museums was in Germany (25), Great Britain (11), USA (10), the then Czechoslovakia (10), Italy (8), and Poland (5). It turned out that out of the 10 universal book museums which were functioning in the 70ies and 80ies of the 20th century, only five exist today. The others were closed down, narrowed down their activities or changed their profile altogether. Some museums have retained a very traditional academic character. Given the context of contemporary and modern museology, with all the attention focused on the visitor rather than on the museum objects themselves, the situation of these museums is problematic.
Highlights
The article deals with the problematic theoretical aspects of book museums and examines the issues related to the establishment, development, registration and spread of book museums in Europe in the second half of the 20th century
In the attempt to determine the development of the book museum, the analysis of a directory on the development of museums, entitled Museums of Books and Bookmaking: International Directory, published in 1987 and regarded as historiographically valuable material, was undertaken
The conclusion has been drawn that an interest in book museums in the second half of the 20th century was a natural outcome of the development of book science of that time
Summary
Straipsnyje svarstomi probleminiai teoriniai knygos muziejų aspektai (jų funkcijos, rūšys, specifika kitų muziejų kontekste, panašumai ir skirtumai lyginant su bibliotekų dokumentinio paveldo padaliniais), nagrinėjami knygos muziejų steigties, raidos, registracijos, paplitimo Europoje XX a. antrojoje pusėje klausimai. Paskelbtas „Knygos ir knygininkystės muziejų sąvadas“, jame pateikta informacija apie universaliuosius Europos knygos muziejus lyginta su šiandienos situacija. Metodiniams ir praktiniams veiklos klausimams Lietuvoje dėmesys taip pat sustiprėjęs (Vilniaus universiteto Komunikacijos fakultete įsteigta Muziejininkystės katedra, išleista solidžių Lietuvos muziejų istorijos ir muzeologijos darbų[2], pradėjo eiti tęstinis mokslo leidinys „Acta museologica Lituanica“, ruošiama ir jau yra apginta šios mokslo šakos disertacijų[3]). Šiuo metu teoriniams knygos muziejų klausimams dėmesys sumažėjęs, ši tema gvildenama tik platesnio ir bendresnio pobūdžio knygotyros ar muzeologijos tyrimuose, specialesnių publikacijų trūksta. Išleistas Knygos ir knygininkystės muziejų sąvadas[14] (specialus tyrimo šaltinis, jame pateikta informacija buvo lyginama su sąvade aprašytų muziejų dabarties situacija), įvairių šiandienos knygos muziejų internetinės svetainės, kiti šios temos internetiniai ištekliai, straipsnio autorės patirtis, įgyta dirbant su senaisiais leidiniais, bei informacija, surinkta lankantis šiandienos knygos muziejuose.
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