Museokäytön

Museokäytön, or "museum use," is a concept in Finnish museology describing the planned, rights-respecting use of museum collections and related materials for exhibitions, research, education, and public engagement. It encompasses decisions about how objects are displayed, studied, lent to other institutions, reproduced in images or texts, and made accessible through catalogs and digital platforms.

It includes handling practices, conservation requirements, interpretive planning, and the management of licenses and permissions for reproductions. It also covers digitization projects and the creation of digital surrogates, as well as policies for public access and learning activities.

Museokäytön is governed by formal policies within museums and by broader national and international frameworks. These policies regulate loans, accession and deaccession decisions, provenance research, consent from source communities when applicable, copyright and image rights, and respect for cultural sensitivities and repatriation considerations.

In practice, museokäytön guides exhibition development, educational programs, researcher access, and collaboration with other institutions. It supports transparent cataloging, stable preservation, and responsible use of cultural heritage in both physical and digital contexts.

Balancing access with preservation, ethics, and cost remains a central challenge. As museums increasingly use digital technologies, museokäytön also addresses questions about authenticity, ownership, and the sustainability of long-term access to digitized materials.