Documentation Of Museum Objects In Estonian Museums: Development And Application Of Museum Information System

Abstract

The master thesis „DOCUMENTATION OF MUSEUM OBJECTS IN ESTONIAN MUSEUMS: Development and application of museum information system“, is based on the understanding that a museum object is a carrier of information. Therefore museums act as important information mediators to the future generations and occupy an important role in the information system of the society.

The general questions of the master thesis is how to document information related to the objects preserved in museums, how it should be managed in the present and how to guarantee its unambiguous understanding and approach also in the future. For this purpose, various documentation methods and description models of museum objects used in Estonian museums have been analysed on the basis of museological and informational-scientific theoretical discussions and the author practical experience. The aim of the master thesis was to give a general overview and bring out the existing problems related to the documentation of museum objects in the information system.

The practical goal of the master thesis is to found a basis for a documentation system of museum objects that is functioning in electronic environment. This means finding out the problematic areas of the existing systems and finding solutions for them. The theoretical proceeding point of the master thesis is the fact that museum objects are in their essence collections of information and therefore their documentation has to be based on the concepts of information science.

The master thesis provides useful information for those who are interested in creating united documentation systems for different types of museums. The work is based on real practical experience of implementing an information system MuIS in Estonian museums and outlines the practical problems that need to be considered during the implementation of museum information system. This work is also a good study material for students of museology, because it gives a historical overview of documentation of museum objects and analysis of modern developments of museum information.

In addition to textual part the thesis contains examples of documentation of museum objects In different Estonian museums during the century. It vividly reflects the transition from paper documentation to electronic documentation.