Czech and Slovak museology, current status and the future of this branch of science
The first person to use the term “museology” in the Czech environment seems to have been Mr. Kliment Cermák, teacher and museologist, who for the first time formulated a need for special education to be provided for museum workers in his article Education in Museology from 1901 published under his editorship in the Bulletin of Czech & Slavonic Archaeological and Museum Association. His publication activities were continued by V. V. Jenícek in the magazine “Czech & Slavonic Museum Annals” between 1902 and 1910 and by Albín Stocký in the magazine “Museum Horizon” published between 1925 and 1928. In Slovakia, there were A. Kmet’ and F. Sasinek, and later P. Kri ko, M. Rybecký, A. Gregorová and M. Lalkovic, standing at the beginning and formation of museology. This generation, and for the most part also the following generation, were on a level comparable with the European elite but they published mainly in the Czech language, therefore they remained more or less hidden from the rest of the world. Museology undoubtedly has a long tradition in Central Europe and this paper aims to reflect the present status and key issues in the environment of the former Czechoslovakia.