Field Museum of Natural History

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage The Field museum's collections of 22 million specimens and artifacts are a national treasure. Scholars from all fields have recognized and made use of the tremendous potential of these natural history collections, including the only records of many extinct species. These collections contain a vast amount of information and ancillary specimen data. The museum's strategic plan specifies the need for a uniform information architecture to consolidate all existing reference collection databases and computerize all collections data now recorded in a variety of formats, from handwritten labels to ledgers and file cards. This grant will support the migration of the museum's fishes specimen collection to the advanced collections management database system, KE EMu, which is the museum's new standard. This project will ensure that the collection remains available in the future for the many and varied research, education, and conservation purposes to which it regularly and significantly contributes to advance scientific understanding and sustain the world's natural heritage. The fishes collection will be among the first to move to the museum's new Collections Resource Center, which is currently under construction.