Annual Conference of the Committee for Documentation

By: by Vid Mesaric, Croatian Radio

CIDOC, of the

International Council of Museums, ICOM

(24-27, May 2005, Zagreb, Croatia)

More than 150 expert from 20 countries have gathered in Zagreb to discuss the role of museums as links between cultures

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Just a few days after the celebration of International Day of Museums (18th May) had sent a message that "the role of such institutions is linking cultures" worldwide, the museum experts from all over the world met in capital of Croatia to exchange experiences, share their problems and investigate how to answer the demands of today's audience. The conference organizers from The Zagreb City Museum and the Museum Documentation Centre are especially pleased to have the chance to host this important international event because of their big anniversaries.

Zagreb City Museum, which a few years ago renovated its architectural complex and the museum concept of the permanent display, will be celebrating its centenary in 2007, while the Museum Documentation Centre concludes this year half a century of work in which it has become the central establishment in Croatia aimed at the advancement of the work of museums and museologists. The questions that attendees shall try to answer are crucial for the future of the museum concepts, and their role in society. "Are the forms of documentation that we use in museums going to be just as interesting and relevant to the general public? What kind of expectations does the public have? How can we affect the museum-public relationship through documentation?", are just some of the discussion hints that reflect the main topic of the Conference which is "Documentation and Users". 38 speakers shall offer starting points for brain - storming, and will touch upon various fields of expertise such as: from inventorisation and cataloguing to documentation for users: internal vs external documentation, professional vs public priorities, visitors vs users; the impact of users on documentation: Interaction, information exchange, community expectations, focusing on groups of users; the digital heritage: new forms of museum documentation, contents management vs collection management, user-friendly knowledge systems, the Internet and electronic possibilities, digital preservation; problems and challenges: additional professional efforts, costs, copyright, theft, etc. Presentations, round-tables and discussions will be held till Saturday on the premises of the Croatian State Archive - the building that used to be National and University Library, which, surely, creates a special, scholarly atmosphere that will motivate participants to be as creative and efficient as possible in taking museum concepts into a new age.

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