Alfred Denny Museum

Database and Digital Archive (Coming Soon)

Within our archives we hold many rare and unique specimens with interesting stories to share with the public. In addition we have a number of research and historic collections not on display that we wish to provide greater access to for knowledge sharing. Natural Science Collections such as ours are essential in addressing fundamental questions in science, innovations, discoveries and sustainability. They can be used to study the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic pressures on our flora and fauna by comparing historical records with current ones. However, many physical collections can be difficult to access, and this can slow down research efforts and limit the usability of collections. 

Our Digitisation and Communications Officer (Kane Dibb) is working with the museum curators (Emma Hughes and Gavin Thomas), the University's Museum Heritage Curator (Emily J Green) and the University's Archaeozoology Technicians (Yvette A Marks and Ewan Chipping) to establish a database for storing information about specimens, and other University collections to increase the accessibility of the respective collections for teaching, research and outreach. 

The goal of this collaborative effort is to establish an online database which can be accessed by students, researchers and members of the public to learn more about the University of Sheffield Collections and the items housed within them. Additionally, we hope to set up an online catalogue for viewers to navigate to view items from the collection and associated media and metadata.

The Alfred Denny database will contain detailed information on the specimens both on display and in our archives. Individual specimens will be catalogued with their name, taxonomy, specimen type, museum location, quality and other relevant information such as collection date, collector and curatorial notes, plus any associated images, videos or 3D scans.