Obras bibliográficas em espaços museais e a interface entre biblioteconomia e museologia: o caso do Centro de Memória da Medicina-UFMG

Abstract

The Medicine Memory Center (Cememor - Centro de Memória da Medicina) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais was established in the 1970s and currently holds both museum pieces and a rich collection of rare, precious books and historical documents. The temporary exhibitions held by the Museum include items from the book collection and the archive in order to enrich their context and publicize the historical content preserved by the Cememor. Based on the theme or the person honored by the exhibition, rare manuals or reference works, photographs, letters and signed documents or books are temporarily moved from the book and document collections to the exhibit, in order to complete and illustrate the collection of museum items exposed to the visitors. The general objective of the present work is to show in practice how bibliographic works dynamically play and the mediation a role as parts of museum exhibitions. Specific aims are: identifying which bibliographic works are currently exposed at the Cememor, stressing the importance of the historical context in which they were placed; and exploring the important role of these works in helping mediate the museum exhibition. There are currently eight exhibitions including equipment related to the history of healthcare which also include rare, precious or even common bibliographic materials. These collections encompass the following themes: medicine in war-time; evolution of medical and laboratory equipment (more specifically microscopes and x-ray machines); dentistry; pharmacy; anatomy; and Juscelino Kubitschekís life as a doctor. It is essential that librarians working in memory centers expand their technical performance to contribute more actively for museum organization and education, getting better acquainted with the topic and the historical context of the collections they deal with. Strengthening the extension of contacts with the users of this type of unit of information is also necessary to develop an interdisciplinary work in which librarians, museologists, archivists and even historians perform their knowledge-building roles with both partnership and protagonism.