Museum: From the traditional form towards the social institution

Abstract

The article deals with the reasons of crisis in museology. As the main idea of these are considered the gap between modern museum practice and limited by frame of the professional Institute. Whereas science, which main role is to describe as fully and adequately as possible the part of reality it works with, must permanently analyse all ongoing changes in order to preserve the validity of scientific concepts and develop new ones. The classical museology approach continues to describe museum objects and basic functions concerning selection, documentation, preservation, research, exhibition, restoration and etc. Meanwhile, radical innovations occur in the interaction of the museum and its visitors, accompanied the process of incorporation kind of works other cultural institutions. Today, the broad engagement of local communities, volunteers, collectors, “friends of the museum” societies and sponsors in the museum’s activities demonstrate trends of new Museum movement towards its selfdevelopment from a professional to a social institution, integrated into the system of social institutions of the society along with the institutions of family, religion, education, political parties, etc. Science, the main role of which is to fully and adequately describe the part of the reality with which it works, is invariably faced with the task of analysing all the changes that are taking place in order to maintain the validity of scientific concepts and develop new ones. An objective analysis of these innovations can give museology an impetus for the further development of the scientific apparatus and the updating of theoretical constructions.