The Museum Data Service (MDS) is an initiative to provide an online repository of data about objects in the collections of
accredited museums in the United Kingdom and associated territories. It is a collaboration between
Art UK
Art UK is a cultural, education charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Since 2003, it has digitised more than 300,000 paintings, sculptures and other artworks by more than 53,700 artists.
It was found ...
, the
Collections Trust
The Collections Trust is an independent UK-based charity that works with museums, libraries, galleries and archives worldwide to improve the management and use of collections. It was established in February 1977 as the Museum Documentation Associ ...
and the
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...
and was launched in September 2024.
The project builds on work done by Art UK since 2003, cataloguing paintings held in public collections.
It received initial funding from
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environ ...
and the
Arts and Humanities Research Council
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities.
History
The Arts a ...
.
At launch, the project included 3 million records from 21 museums.
The MDS does not display images of objects, but links instead to museums' own catalogue entries, where available.
Each object is assigned a persistent identifier by the MDS.
References
External links
{{Authority control
2024 establishments in the United Kingdom
Online databases
University of Leicester