Museum Collecting in the Age of ‘Big Data’: Opportunities for Collaboration

Abstract

Museums, particularly museums of cultural history, face a constant challenge of deciding which objects to add to the collection, knowing that acquiring any object brings obligations to provide long term stable environments, appropriate documentation, and ongoing access. Established practice is for each museum to evaluate potential acquisitions in accordance with their own written collections policy. However, institutions acting independently has led to significant duplication of objects, straining the resources of each museum. Some museums are exploring collaborative approaches to this “big data” problem by sharing information on collections, reallocating objects among museums, and making collections available to one another for exhibitions.