museological

Museological is an adjective relating to museology, the field that studies museums, their roles, and their practices. It encompasses the theoretical and practical aspects of how museums acquire, preserve, interpret, exhibit, and manage collections, as well as how they engage audiences and communities.

Historically, museology emerged with the professionalization of museums in the 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on collection management, cataloguing, and curatorial authority. In the late 20th century, the discipline expanded with the rise of the New Museology, which emphasized audience participation, social context, accessibility, and reflexivity about power, representation, and ethics in curation and display.

Practices within museology include collection management and conservation, curatorship, exhibition design, interpretation and education, research, and digital technologies such as online catalogs and virtual or augmented reality experiences. Museological analysis also covers governance, policy, funding, ethics, provenance, and repatriation.

Academic and professional programs in museum studies or museology prepare practitioners to work in museums, cultural heritage organizations, and related institutions. The term "museological" is used more often in scholarly writing to describe approaches, theories, or methods tied to museum practice, as distinct from general historical or art-historical scholarship.

Related terms include museology, museum studies, curatorship, conservation, and heritage management.