Library is to Museum as Paper is to Book...

Have you ever considered that your favourite library could be a sort of museum? When we consider the extensive collections, occasional exhibits, book talks, and in-house conservation work, we find there are many similarities in purpose and programming between the two institutions.

The Ancient Library of Alexandria, Mouseion at Alexandria.
Image: http://www.crystalinks.com/libraryofalexandria.html

The modern museum is defined by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) as, "An organized and permanent nonprofit institution, essentially education or esthetic in a purpose, with professional staff, that owns or uses tangible objects, cares for them and exhibits them to the public on some regular schedule." You must only enter a library to notice how this definition of museum is applicable and well suited to a public library.

But to really understand the deeper relationship between a library and museum we must look at the origins of this institution.

As we delve into the archives, we discover the earliest description of a museum being a place where the muses dwell. Muses were goddesses that inspired the arts, history, and science which was monumental in paving the way for exploration, discovery, and creativity. Pre-dating the word 'museum', these institutions were known as mouseions.

UNC Greensboro Campus. Image: https://uc.uncg.edu/prod/cweekly/
2013/04/09/takesurveyonmasterplan/041013feature_masterplan/

This third century establishment was a place of knowledge and inspiration, which draws on parallels to the modern-day university.

As a university library, our mission reflects the original undertaking Ptolemy Soter realized by founding the mouseion. This museum-library relationship emphasizes the importance of conserving objects and history, whilst making them available for educational use. I must also mention that as restoration, conservation, and preservation have evolved and developed scientifically, the responsibility of these modern-day institutions to keep history alive has grown.

UNC Greensboro University Libraries Exhibit.
https://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/exhibits/current_exhibits.aspx

Here in Preservation Services we continue to preserve, conserve, and restore items that are valuable to our collection, our patrons, and our community. Much like a museum, we want to keep our collections accessible and available for use. Through various methods of preventative conservation, passive conservation, active conservation, and restoration we aim to increase the longevity of our books, music scores, and the various items you will find in our collections.

We will let you decide if a library is a museum, but next time you visit, consider the care, history, and significance of the items in our collection.

Written by: Georgia Barrett

Georgia is a current UNC Greensboro student and she works in Preservation Services.
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Resource:
Latham, K.F., & Simmons, J.E. (2014). Foundations of museum studies: Evolving systems of knowledge. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com