Explore collections
We’ve brought together information about the scope and strengths of museum collections around the country. Together these summaries give the fullest guide yet to the UK’s wonderfully diverse museums.
Search objects
Here you can search across millions of object records from museums large and small: the raw material for research and countless other uses. This database will grow as we work towards gathering all object records from all UK museums.
About
The Museum Data Service is a joint initiative by Art UK, Collections Trust and the University of Leicester, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Get a quick overview of what we’re aiming to achieve, and see who’s involved.
Sharing data
Any UK museum, or museum-like collection, can be part of the Museum Data Service. We offer a free and easy way to share your collections data, on your own terms. Use us to open up your collection catalogue to everyone, or keep some things restricted to certain people only. You can even use us as a secure and confidential backup for all your collection data. Even better, we can take your collection in any format and however you can get it to us. It couldn’t be simpler.
Using data
We think it will take up to a decade to include all object records from all UK museums, but you can already search across millions of object records, and hundreds of collection summaries. In this section, we describe the scope of our data and explain how you can search and use use records from our databases, subject to licensing and other restrictions the source museums might set. As people start using MDS data, we’ll also post use case studies here.
Upcoming events
MDS at the Museums + Heritage Show
If you’re going to the 2025 Museums + Heritage Show (and you really should) come and chat to the MDS team at the Collections Trust stand. We’ll be there both days to answer questions and show you how it all works.
MDS at the Museums + Heritage Show
If you’re going to the 2025 Museums + Heritage Show (and you really should) come and chat to the MDS team at the Collections Trust stand. We’ll be there both days to answer questions and show you how it all works.
Getting ready for MDS
A great strength of MDS is that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Each museum will have its own reasons for signing up and these will influence how much data is shared and on what terms. This session is for those who want to explore the data-sharing options offered by MDS and see how the process works.