Museum Documentation Beyond Objects

The Construction of the Memory of Museum Information Professionals

Abstract

The article presents the history of the museum and museology at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ/BRJ), highlighting its role as an informational museological system that contributes to the construction, preservation, dissemination and popularization of the history and memory of science in Brazil. The research emphasizes the importance of museological documentation not only as a record of objects, but as a fundamental means of valuing the memory of museology professionals and the museum institution itself, especially in the context of science spaces.

Based on the analysis of the documentary collection of the Museology Service (SEMU) of the Fiocruz Museum of Life, it is evident how technical-administrative documentation can reveal the history, contributions and challenges faced by documentalist museologists over time. The research follows the evolution of museology at Fiocruz from the 1970s — the period of institutionalization of the area — to the present day, based on a multidisciplinary approach, including the analysis of historical documents, technical reports, correspondence and activity records.

The importance of digitizing and organizing these documents to expand access and foster new research is also discussed. The proposal to create a digital database, with open access and integrated with other scientific institutions, aims to preserve the history of science museums and to value the strategic role of information professionals in contemporary society.
Finally, the work proposes a reflection on the need to recognize the practices and experiences of these professionals, especially in the field of museology and heritage. Therefore, museological documentation goes beyond the recording of objects, being essential for the construction of the memory and identity of museologists and museological institutions, particularly scientific ones.