Data Services

Data Services

For the past 160 years, our Curators, Collection Managers, and volunteers have been creating descriptions, classifications and taxonomies to catalogue and map object information within our collections. Over this time, we have amassed a huge amount of data, and metadata (data about data) regarding the 4 million + objects in our care. Digitisation projects, access initiatives, and rigorous data management have made Collections Online what it is today, and the ongoing work of our staff has resulted in an extensive digital collection available online. Our mission is to make this data accessible, useable, and useful for researchers and members of the public who may have an interest in it.

Tāmaki Paenga Hira Public API

Tāmaki Paenga Hira Public API

Perhaps you are undertaking a geneological project that requires a broad search query across all our collections, or maybe you want to utilise artworks in our pictorial collection for a machine learning project? We encourage the use of the API web services for creative, personal and academic pursuits through application of our data. 

Our data can be directly accessed in a JSON format through the Tāmaki Paenga Hira API, a RESTful/HTTPS-style API service.  
 
By accessing our data through the Tāmaki Paenga Hira API, you can make requests for structured data from our collections to use in your personal research, data experiments, projects, or artworks.  

Before you get started on your project, you'll need to read our API Terms and Conditions. This is where you will find important information about your access rights, cultural permissions, and what you can and cannot do with our data.  

Keep in touch: we'd love to hear from you how you're using our data, or if you have any questions about our terms of use. Contact us by sending an email, or tag us on social media if you are building something public. 
 

Read more about using our API here.  

 

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Online Cenotaph Data

Online Cenotaph Data

Online Cenotaph was established by Auckland War Memorial Museum in 1996 and since then we have collaborated with many organisations and individuals to create and enrich the database records. Online Cenotaph records are sourced from many places including official Nominal or Embarkation Rolls, private research, family knowledge, user contributions, and published and unpublished primary and secondary sources. 

When we receive datasets from external sources the contributors understand that it is our intention to provide this content using a CC-BY license. Our collection data is made freely available through our Online Cenotaph digital platform and will be available via the Tāmaki Paenga Hira API soon. In the meantime, please read more about the management of Online Cenotaph Data and ways to contribute to or utilise this dataset here. If you have further questions about Online Cenotaph, please feel free to contact our team via this contact form.  

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Image Downloads

Image Downloads

The Museum offers an image order service where copyright and cultural permissions guidelines allow, which you can read more about here. 
 
Additionally, where appropriate, images that are openly licensed and public domain are available for high-resolution download by the public. These downloads are available through digital partnership platforms such as Flickr, Pinterest, GBIF and Wikimedia Commons. Alternatively, images can be directly downloaded from an object’s page on Collections Online or Online Cenotaph.  
 
Clicking on an image will usually reveal copyright information within the caption. Labels such as "No Known Copyright Restrictions” and “Auckland Museum CC-BY” and are all positive indicators that an image is available for sharing and adapting with certain restrictions outlined here. 

If an image is labelled with “All rights reserved”, “Copyright Undetermined – Untraced Rights Owner”, or “Cultural Permissions Apply” the image is available for viewing, but not for high-resolution download or commercial use.  

In some instances, object imagery will not be available to view online: this could be due to many factors, including reduction of risk in compromising sensitive location data (this is most relevant to our natural science specimens in ‘endangered’ or ‘at risk’ categories) or quite simply we may have just not photographed this object yet. 

Additionally, Tāmaki Paenga Hira’s Cultural Permissions Processes protect Māori and Pacific objects and subject matter across the collection. Please refer to the cultural permissions guidelines for more information.  

If you see something that does not look right regarding the images on our website, or if have any questions about the rights and permissions of an image within our collection, please contact our Imaging and Permissions team at [email protected].

Lighting Sheets

Lighting Sheets

Auckland Museum is committed to sharing free of charge and open source standards and methodologies with the GLAM sector locally, nationally and internationally. Here you will find image lighting sheets compiled by our Collection Photographers, sharing their knowledge and techniques learnt from working on the Museum's five year collection access projects. 

 

 

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