MANAGING THE COLLECTIONS OF THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW VERSUS THE EXPERIENCE OF THE HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA

The Medical History Museum founded in2011 within the structure of the Medical University ofWarsaw (WUM), following the solutions introduced at theHumboldt University in Berlin and the University of Vienna,is planning to shortly introduce coordination of protectionand display of the historic tangible heritage of the school.In both Berlin and Vienna in the early 21st century theproject of university collection inventory was launched. Just over several years it yielded a large-scale digitizingprocess, foundation of theme websites, publications,and organization of temporary exhibitions promoting thehistoric university collections. The Association of UniversityMuseums established in Poland in 2014 has for severalyears been drawing inspiration from the German andAustrian models.The WUM Medical History Museum, resorting to theexperience of the Berlin and Vienna universities, hasapplied numerous ideas for the integration of the historiccollections, their identification, and recreation. Followingthe history of medical collections in Warsaw from the 1sthalf of the 19th century up to contemporary times, theAuthor analyses the model for this museum strategy, whilealso presenting examples of dangers resulting from themismanagement of university historic heritage.