American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History will develop an updated collections database for its Division of Anthropology collection to increase accessibility and expand use by researchers, lay audiences, museum staff, individuals at other institutions, and members of communities of origin. Following a discovery phase to identify a full list of functionality needs for the database, the museum will work in close partnership with an open source software development firm to design and develop a simplified database infrastructure to optimize functionality; increase cross-referential searchability; and enable staff to easily manage content. The project team, working with a group of experts in the field, will conduct monitoring and prototyping to evaluate progress and the new system's effectiveness, allowing improvements to be made throughout every phase of the project. The project will revitalize the stewardship of the collection while providing global access for a diverse array of audiences.