Launch of new Website for
"Australian Museums On Line"

Barry J. Conn
Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
barry@rbgsyd.gov.au

1998

The Heritage Collections Council (HCC) aims to establish widespread access to Australian collecting institutions electronically. The new Australian Museums On Line Website   (AMOL), which was officially launched 13 October 1998, is the first major step in providing this electronic link. The idea for the project grew out of the recognition of the need for a National database of all collections.  It is regarded as  the gateway to the nation's culture on the Internet.

In this project, museums are regarded as including natural science and indigenous collections, as well as art galleries. Since the information for people is far broader than the actual collections held by museums, the focus of AMOL is on 'telling stories' rather than on documenting 60 million items held in Australian museums.

AMOL is a collaborative effort involving Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. Therefore, it forms part of Australia's Cultural Network. The result is a trove of data - descriptions, images, stories, articles, opinions - reflecting the richness of Australia's cultural heritage.

The AMOL website offers easy access to cultural information, particularly for remote and regional museums and cultural organisations. Collections from large State institutions can be found alongside collections from regional and community museums and galleries from every region of Australia.

The AMOL website includes:

• Guide to Australian Museums (over 1,000 Australian collecting institutions are listed)
• Open Collections (search a database of more than 400,000 collection records)
• Museum Craft (a unique range of resources for museum workers, including conservation information, a dynamic Australian Museums Forum, an Open Museum Journal, events, information on jobs, training, grants, museum industry contacts)

Visit the new AMOL site

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