Siberian Federal University

Museum for the Geology of Central Siberia has lost its building and its existence has been threatened. Museum profesionals and the public faced a challenge: how to save its invaluable collection.

Krasnoyarsk Museum for the Geology of Central Siberia is a major Russian museum in the field. Its collections were formed between 1960 and 1987 and it has 35, 000 objects. Its former building allowed the museum professionals to exhibit 5 000 objects and the temporary exhibition does not let them display even this number.

Teachers and students from the Institute for the Humanities, Siberian Federal University, volunteered to develop the digital search system 'Museum for the Geology of Central Siberia: Collections'. Later the project was supported by Krasnoyarsk Regional Foundation of Research Support. The project aims to display regional heritage as a digital collection.

«Tecnologically, it will be an application to display high quality images of museum exhibits. It will have zooming options and accompanying textual information», — Dr Marina Lapteva, project head and Associate Professor at the Department of IT in Creative and Cultural Industries, says.

The project is important because it is linked to the world trends in digital humanities and it provides online access to research and cultural materials. It was approved by the Chief Department of Culture, Krasnoyarsk Administration.

The resource can be used in culture, education and research. The search system can be applied to displaying museum objects and as an educational resource for schools and educational institutions. It might be a public online resource suited to the needs of an independent life-long learner.