Libraries Archives and Museums

Identifying the Bonds

Abstract

This paper discussed differences and similarities among the libraries, archives and museums. The authors emphasized that museums, archives and libraries address the real needs in their communities and share many core values as the materials that museums, archives and libraries collect echo the human spirit. This paper reiterates the fact that museums, archives and libraries have similar technological needs as they all use computers to catalogue, track, and index materials. Most educational programmes for the training of library and archival professionals are located in the same department except for museum
training that is sometimes located differently. This paper also discussed the similar daily concerns of the libraries, archives and museums as the duties of their workers are very similar. This paper discussed the problems with the boundaries among these institutions which have had very real and practical
consequences on the treatment of both historical and current information materials and the authors went further to proffer solutions to these problems. This paper concludes that the infusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) into the operations of these disciplines, tends to reduce the gaps among them and also help to consolidate their efforts and aspirations at meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)’s of ‘information for all’ in the year 2020 especially among the developing nations.