Key Concepts of Museology

Key Concepts of Museology is a reference tool developed by ICOM’s International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM) that provides museum professionals worldwide with a common language.

Presented in 2010 at the 22nd ICOM General Conference, running from 7 to 12 November 2010 in Shanghai, China. 2,000 copies in four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Chinese) were distributed to members during the ICOM General Conference. It was also decided to keep all the versions available online.

The publication defines the main museology-related ideas used by museum professionals. This project launched by ICOFOM in 1993 under the coordination of François Mairesse and André Desvallées is the result of many years of defining 21 concepts and terms important for the profession. The Key Concepts is a preview of the larger Dictionary of Museology that was published in 2011 in French – Dictionnaire Encyclopédique de Muséologie.

The Key Concepts of Museology is available in 15 languages:

English (2010)
Key Concepts of Museology

French (2010)
Concepts clés de muséologie

Spanish (2010)
Conceptos claves de museología

Chinese (2010)

博物馆学关键概念

Japanese (2011)
博物館学のキーコンセプト

Czech (2011)
Základní muzeologické pojmy

Latvian (2012)
Muzeoloģijas Pamatjēdzieni

Russian (2012)
Ключевые понятия музеологии

Portuguese (2013)
Conceitos-chave de museologia

Mongolian (2014)
Музей судлалын тулгуур ойлголтууд (no pdf available)