So I came across 資料館 (しりょうかん – museum/archive/record office) and when I tried looking how to differentiate it from the usual 博物館 (はくぶつかん – museum), others started to pop up like 記念館 (きねんかん – memorial & museum), 歴史館 (れきしかん – history museum) and so on.
記念館 is the usual museum built as a memorial, but how about the others?
According to some articles I read, there's a 博物館法 (はくぶつかんほう), a Museum Act that defines the different types of "museums" in Japan, so maybe it's just a technical thing in which for specific reasons, you need a sum of characteristics to call a place a "true" 博物館. I also read that although one can call itself a 博物館, like those Lamen Museums in Japan, it's not officially recognized as true museums.
So is there a more clear and solid way to know when a place is a 博物館, 資料館, 歴史館, etc?
For instance, Atomic Bomb Museums are often called 原爆資料館 (げんばくしりょうかん), but why? Is it indeed just a technicality to call them that way?
Edit: typo
by gmoshiro