What the books say – the usefulness of visitor books as a research source.

This research examined and evaluated visitor comments at The National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, recorded in comment books over a period of 10 years since the Musuem opened to the public in 2001. The aim was to establish reoccuring patterns of comments and determine what these told us about how the public related to the exhibitions and objects on display. Themes related to reminisence, identity, ownership and emotion were identified as reoccuring throughout the comments recorded. These were analysed within the context of museum learning theory to determine links between recorded visitor reactions and learning, and how these links could be further enhanced in the future.