Museum
Mundaneum
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The Mundaneum, founded in 1910 by Belgian lawyers Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine, is a fascinating museum that showcases an ambitious project to classify all the world's knowledge. Often called the 'paper internet,' the Mundaneum aimed to create a universal bibliographic catalog using index cards and a sophisticated classification system. Today, the museum is housed in a former department store in Mons and displays original cabinets of index cards, early multimedia exhibits, and documents from Otlet and La Fontaine's vision. Visitors can explore the history of information management, see the original 'Mundaneum' furniture, and learn how this early attempt at a global knowledge network paved the way for modern search engines. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions on themes related to information and communication.
Don't miss
- See the original card catalog cabinets with millions of index cards
- Learn about Paul Otlet's vision of a 'paper internet'
- Explore interactive exhibits on information classification
- Visit the temporary exhibition space
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