Helena Lonkila works as a researcher-conservator at the Kainuu Museum. This article is based on the thesis of the same name that the author wrote for her master’s degree. She is thus the first person in Finland to have an MA with museology as the main subject. The paper was published by the Department of Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Culture, Science and Technology Master’s Programme and the Kainuu Museum in January 2005. The publication is available in Finnish at http://www.kajaani.fi/kainuunmuseo.