One big picture – 12,000 little pictures: the Auckland Art Gallery collection management and access programme

Abstract

Using the resources available through the Auckland City Council, the Auckland Art Gallery has managed to turn a simple database upgrade into a programme of work with much greater impact on the way information about the gallery’s collection is delivered to the public. The Council has adopted a value management methodology which identifies wide programme aims, costs and benefits for new initiatives. Although initially time‐consuming, the methodology allowed the programme to gain good management support and funding far greater than that originally envisaged. As well as migrating the collection database to a new system, staff have managed a range of projects including digitising the entire collection of 12,000 works, clearing copyrights as required, and cataloguing and scanning ephemera related to key areas of the collection. Work has also been carried out on Web‐based access to collection information as part of a re‐designed gallery Web site. This work raises questions about a shift in the role of a traditional art gallery and the necessity to employ additional skills to meet the opportunities offered by the digital environment.