Relationships between museum and society: historical aspect

In the era of globalization, society attitude to cultural heritage has changed, which is perceived as a national treasure, a guarantee of sustainable socio-economic development. Museums are the main custodians of national treasure, social memory. In this regard, the authors reveal the problems of interaction between museum and society in the historical aspect. In the article the functions of the museum as the foundation of interaction between the museum and society, the main areas and main ways of interaction and specific steps taken by modern museums and society in order to increase the effectiveness of mutual contacts were exam-ined. The role of public needs in the process of the genesis of the museum is characterized and the chronological framework of the emergence of the museum as a cultural and historical phenomenon and as a special system in the socio-cultural life of society is clarified