Museum libraries: how digitization can enhance the value of the museum

It is the responsibility of the museum library to enhance the understanding of the museum collection and the role of museum objects as cultural documents. For many reasons, this role is only partially fulfilled, if at all. This is because in practice the library and its museum are insufficiently integrated to perform effectively together. We argue that in a digital world, the library and the museum can and should be re-integrated into a single cultural information system. However, since in practice digitization of the library and the museum follow different paths, museums and their libraries will have to change their thinking about how to proceed.