Historical Role Of Museums And Libraries In Information Support Of Educational Environment

Abstract

This article discusses the historical role and importance of museum and library institutions, describes the history of their evolution and the current state. Their influence on the increase of cultural, educational and information level of pupils’ knowledge is defined. Museum and library pedagogies are independent branches of the complex of sciences on education in general, and pedagogical science in particular. The purpose of this study is the leading problem of the formation of cultural, informational and educational potential by means of museum pedagogy and library activities. It is revealed that methodological, methodical and applied basis of the development of cultural and educational space organically combined fundamental principles of theoretical pedagogy, philosophy of education, history, culturology, art-criticism, and specifics of library and museum information environment. It is determined that museum and library pedagogies as segments of scientific humanities were formed by taking into account the peculiarities of the development of the modern cultural and socio-economic situation. It is established that the open subject-spatial environment is formed on the basis of methodological, paradigm, cultural and civilization interaction. Currently, the important problem is a meaningful interaction with the objects of spiritual heritage, as well as constantly updated modern information environment. The question of scientific representation of information and cultural and educational potential of museum and library institutions is considered. Thus, through the acquisition and assimilation of new developmental ideas about environment and by means of specialized cultural (museum and library) communication, certain creative, innovative, stimulating and recreational effects are achieved.

Keywords: Museumlibrarymuseum pedagogieslibrary pedagogies

Introduction

The formation of the modern system of pedagogical activities, as well as the full-scale progressive development of the theory and practice of museum and library activities led to the integration of traditional and innovative forms of acquiring cultural values. Methodological foundations of museum and library pedagogies harmoniously combined the fundamental principles of the following Humanities: philosophy of education, history, pedagogy, psychology, art history, cultural studies, as well as the specifics of information and educational environment. Museum and library pedagogies, as related and interacting with each other scientific disciplines, are drawn up not only from methodological positions, but also taking into account the characteristics of the modern paradigm of cultural organizations, in which a unique subject-spatial environment is created on the basis of open intercultural dialogue and modern communications.

Problem Statement

The education in the contextual space of culture is of the priority importance, as it plays a leading information and communication role in the field of social awareness. The research into the leading role of pedagogical activity in the cultural and educational spheres of modern society is an important incentive to study in detail and analyze the history of the formation of library and museum traditions. It should be noted that modern library and museum activities will have to determine the priority of innovative forms and methodological methods of rational use for the existing collections of libraries and museum storages to enhance communication on the scale of the entire infrastructure network of cultural institutions.

Research Questions

In the third Millennium, fundamental changes in school pedagogy, museum work and library work led to the fact that both museum and library as well as their basic functional use were fundamentally transformed. In addition, the structure of their relationship with visitors and users was significantly modified. Here, the leading motive for introducing the user to the materials of library and museum storages traditionally continues to be a craving for knowledge, i.e. for obtaining certain information. The direct consequences of the usage of IT and digital technology in library and museum space was the allocated remote access to the funds, and expositions, which activates the process of their productive use. Nowadays, museums and libraries are transformed into a single modern info-communication and visual-spatial system designed to serve a certain targeted range of users / visitors. Modern museum and library institutions are in fact cultural and information centres, i.e. specialized organizations for storage, thematic, problematic and chronological selection of the content and provision of the variable information content requested by users and visitors. These circumstances allow us to predict the future formation of the new complex multifunctional museum and library associations.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this research is to study the historical and cultural role of museums and libraries in the infrastructure and provide information support for the educational environment. In the course of research the problems of the formation of cultural, information and educational potential of pupil’s personality by means of museum and library pedagogies are revealed.

Research Methods

The multi- and inter-discipline nature of the scientific problem under consideration, the opposite views and the evaluation of the role and the importance of museum and library organizations in the modern cultural and educational space dictate the use of different methodological approaches and research methods in this study. In this research we used paradigmatic, civilization and cultural approaches. The following research methods are applied: comparative, historical-typological, historical-genetic, historiographical, historical-systemic, conceptual-terminological. Also the methods of synthesis and the interpretation of scientific information in the context of the leading trends in the development of modern education and pedagogical science, as a basic element of national culture, were used.

Findings

Since the beginning of public libraries, their priority task was to provide cultural and educational activities, and library has become a book depository open to all. At the present stage of the development of library business, the newest type of libraries has been formed – it is a multi-complex centre, equipped with modern technology, providing its users with a significant segment of services (from traditional to electronic database). Public libraries, which are meant to carry out educational activities and introduce spiritual values to the citizens, perform partially an educational role.

At the international level, the European experience is indicative and has a certain content value. Thus, the European Council encourages the creation of computerized public library centres and multi-discipline libraries as new regional educational centres for secondary school pupils and teachers, students, University professors and researchers. Support is being provided for the revision of national curricula and programmes and their re-orientation towards Internet-based education and information and communication training.

National multi-cultural and educational centres are the most popular and the most visited libraries. They not only fruitfully fulfil their traditional functions but also actively organize exhibitions and expositions, conduct scientific and practical activities, carry out targeted research, cultural, educational and publishing activities (Dougherty, 1985). Improvement of the educational activities of the libraries can significantly enhance their role in the formation of historical memory and education of the younger generation on the traditional cultural values. At present it is necessary to clearly reinforce at the legislative and legal level the special status of the library as a unique object of cultural heritage and a monument of history and architecture, that includes buildings, book collections, archive collections of historical documents, exhibits of library museums and many other cultural objects historically associated with the traditional library (Namhila, 2017).

Information resources of libraries around the world are recognized as strategic, largely determining the level of intellectual, spiritual and socio-economic development of modern society. In this regard, national libraries have the role of especially important objects of cultural policy in many leading, economically developed countries of the world community, and their maintenance and modernization are invested in to a great extent (Blakiston, 2013). The target activity of the library should be primarily aimed at spreading the elements of knowledge paradigm in the society, which is an integral part of the modern cultural and educational macro environment. Currently, humanities knowledge manifests itself not only as some information, but also as the most important socio-cultural phenomenon, embracing worldview and practical forms of social reality.

The ability of the library to satisfy intellectual demands and to provide social needs in the sphere of the reproduction of spiritual values is based on its most important quality, i.e. to simulate efficiently the basic elements of modern cultural reality (Logan, Gayhart, 2017). While actively responding to the social challenges and demands of the modern information society, library should learn how to determine the main priorities of its goal-directed, organizing and functional activities. It should be able to maximize the potential of the users to access the information content of library collections, to expand the context of the scientific information resources by attracting modern analytical materials that most fully reflect the changes in the field of library science and to form a motivated and conscious interest in their resources, that reveal traditional, innovative historical and cultural practices.

Innovations in the field of museum work and library activities should be integrated or systemic in nature and stimulate the major trends in the increase of quality and quantity of the knowledge and information content. The development strategy of museum pedagogies and libraries should be based on the innovative model that is directly related to the formation of a modern knowledge society. It imposes strict requirements on ensuring mass access of individuals to knowledge for the purpose of their full-scale use, dissemination and further translation outside.

Libraries, as leading cultural institutions, are now an essential link in knowledge management (Shea, Steinhart, Del Rosso, 2017). It is libraries, as custodians of historical and cultural heritage, that can most effectively integrate this heritage into educational and research activities through information and communication technologies. Thus, on a common platform, a unification will take place with the help of innovative technologies in education and science, productive achievements of culture, values and meanings, i.e. leading factors of preservation of intergenerational continuity and traditions, without which further full-scale and multi-dimensional development of modern society is not possible.

Guided by an innovative format in their priority activities, libraries open for themselves and for the modern society the new and promising opportunities to preserve places and objects of cultural heritage in the forms that contribute mostly to generation of the new digital humanities knowledge. Carrying out an enormous amount of expert and analytical work to systematize all coming out publications, and constantly improving the system of rubrics, library as an important social and cultural institution determines the most popular segments in research topics, projects and directions both fundamental and applied. Currently, due to the development of advanced communication technologies library collections are manifested as a leading information resource of the humanities of social and political cycle. The core issue of the representation of the information potential of modern libraries is actualized significantly.

In the context of dissemination of info-communication innovations in the field of library activities, special attention is paid to such types of activities as general management of knowledge resources (library knowledge management), cataloguing and systematization of information resources, creation of annotations, descriptions, reference comments on both publications and audiovisual materials, creation of individual collections of information resources (including electronic) at users request, creation and scientific and methodological support of the information awareness programmes.

In the temporary context of the short-term perspective, there will be a steady trend of confrontation between electronic and traditional books. The latest socio-cultural situation creates active mechanisms for functioning of the cultural development model, in which all printed and electronic versions of books will coexist essentially complementing each other and providing various technologies for the development of modern information flows and traditional knowledge forms. Thus, various communicative formats of book reading (traditional or modern) do not deny the role of its predecessor but only offer new educational technologies and methods of mastering socio-cultural reality.

One of the effective methods of interaction between the national education system and culture is the strengthening of the full-scale relations between educational institutions and library and museum institutions of various types and thematic focus. The interdepartmental fruitful cooperation in the format of library-museum-school forms the leading basic component of the polyphonic innovative model of information and communication infrastructure of cultural and educational space. Productive interaction between libraries, museums and schools is possible only with the innovative approaches that determine the solution of the dominant problem – drawing the growing individual to the leading examples of traditional cultural heritage (Fomina, 1998).

At the present stage of development of the modern history of museum pedagogy the urgent task of the need for further development of the concept of "Museum pedagogy" was formulated by foreign researchers (2015); Mori, (2016); Foreman-Peck, Travers (2013); Scharon (2016); Xanthoudaki (2015).

It seems appropriate to consider analytical reviews of the historiographical resources on the topic of the study, highlighting among them certain groups. The first group should include general work on museum pedagogies and excursions, which indicate their significant potential in the education of citizenship and patriotism of the younger generation, necessary for the future professional self-determination of students. The second group consists of the works dedicated to the school museums as social institution and the importance of their role and significance in the educational process. The third group consists of works dedicated to the problems of early profiling of schoolchildren, which affect the possibilities of museums, primarily school ones, in the early profiling of students. The fourth group of scientific publications consists of the works that consider the impact of the museum-pedagogical environment of the school museums on the socialization of schoolchildren and the formation of students' interest in history, exposition, stock and excursion activities of museums. The fifth, while the smallest group of works, is a publication of a special nature, in which the authors analyze the interrelation and mutual influence of museum pedagogy and early career guidance of students.

It is necessary to determine some approaches to the identification of problems and prospects for the formation of a modern information and educational environment based on the use of museum pedagogy. In a generalized form, museum pedagogies can be represented as a scientific discipline located at the intersection of Social sciences and Humanities, such as pedagogies (Aleksandrov, 2006), psychology, history, sociology, museum studies (Burov, 2009), excursion studies, archival studies.

It is advisable to highlight the following main areas of the application of the achievements of museum pedagogies in the modern educational process: the development and implementation of new educational methods, on the basis of which the original, interactive museum-pedagogical projects (programmes) are created; active inclusion of teachers and students in their implementation; study and creative application of the historical experience of educational and upbringing activities of museums in modern practice; activation of the work of the Governing councils pedagogical staff, councils of the museums and the organizations in the field of museum pedagogies.

Topic lessons in the museum are aimed at overcoming the dissociation of school and museum education in the metropolis through creation of a unified educational space of school and museums of various departmental affiliation (Milovanov, Nikitina, Sokolova, Sergeeva, 2017). The lesson in the museum is, on the one hand, a new format of educational services, which introduce a visit to the museum to the programme of basic school education in all subjects of the school curriculum for students; on the other hand, it assumes the willingness of the museums to participate in the creation of the information educational environment based on educational standards.

The museum-pedagogical project is aimed at mastering of historical and educational space by students and the accumulation of experience of guiding educational excursions by schoolchildren. It helps to enhance the attention of students to the cultural and historical heritage, the development of their communicative competence and the ability to work with information (Milovanov, 2016).

Within the framework of the profile project, museum thematic exhibitions are held being prepared with the use of modern interactive technologies: using interactive and educational programmes, creating zones of "a living museum", which turn visitors of the school museum into active participants in the museum educational process. All the events are accompanied in the Internet space by active actions such as creation and placement of video collections, interactive educational excursions, video reviews and various media presentations.

From a new kind of teacher who is a carrier of both theoretical and methodological knowledge, the modern school expects the scientific selection of literary works. In this regard, the importance of reading increases. If individuality is the system-forming characteristic of the individual, the research reading is a system-integrated course that has a powerful impact on the spiritual, moral, communicative, intellectual education and, importantly, on the social maturity of the individual. In the work with schoolchildren with a high degree of intellectual activity, a book is the leading tool in the formation of skills of speech and reasoning. In the developing and educating environment of the school, systematic work with the book leads to the development of active forms of research and creative learning. In this regard, the school can form a thematic electronic library for students family reading. Despite the extensive and progressive development of information and communication technologies, the "traditional book" continues to be a leading source of information and an important segment of national culture.

Conclusion

Thus, it is not accidental that at present one of the main issues on the agenda is the problem of actualization and popularization of historical, cultural and pedagogical heritage in library and museum institutions of various forms of ownership and sources of financing. In the era of global digitalization of educational space and humanities, the modernization of national, regional, municipal libraries and museums, the very careful and thoughtful preservation of historical and cultural heritage becomes an important reason for cultural organizations to confirm their high social status in the newest realities of the transformed society.

Acknowledgments

The article has been written as part of the government assignment for Institute for Strategy of Education Development for 2017-2019 (No. 27.8089.2017).

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