Museum Data Service Explained

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, the Collections Trust and the University of Leicester and was launched in September 2024.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The project builds on work done by Art UK since 2003, cataloguing paintings held in public collections. It received initial funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. 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.^[4] Each object is assigned a persistent identifier by the MDS.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'An enormous milestone for museums': platform designed to host 100 million object records launches in UK . Alexander . Morrison . The Art Newspaper . 24 January 2025 . 17 September 2024.
2. Web site: 'Invaluable resource': UK-wide collections database launches . Museums Association . 24 January 2025 . 17 September 2024.
3. Web site: Mitchell . Bea . 18 September 2024 . Museum Data Service launches in UK to house 100 million object records . 2025-01-26 . Blooloop .
4. Web site: Hardaker . Alistair . 13 September 2024 . Museum Data Service launches with goal to unite 100m museum records . 2025-01-26 . Museums + Heritage Advisor .
5. Web site: Object: John Tradescant the Younger as a Gardener . Museum Data Service . 25 January 2025.