Registrars, photographic personnel and cataloguers drawn from the museum staff have now been trained. Those attached to the project number eight. The initial staff trained for the first year numbered four, three of whom are still with the project. Results speak volumes for the dedication of museum staff, for their willingness to work on the collection in a methodical and committed manner - to record, photograph, calibrate and locate works under less than perfect conditions.

Discussion is underway to complement the cataloguing project with a project to provide computers, equipment and training to provincial museums, using National Museum staff as trainers, with the object of ensuring that these collections become part of a greater Cambodian museum network. It is the Museum’s deep hope that ongoing discussions will reach a successful outcome and a new collaboration. This important project would never have taken place without the vision and generosity of American philanthropist and CKS patron Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation.

International research and public outreach

With the view of making information of the national museum collections internationally available, the Council of Ministers, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, together with agreement from individual museum directors are all to be congratulated on their foresight in allowing access to both selected images and data from the National Museum through ‘Search the Collection’ link on the museum website at: www.cambodiamuseum.info

Available to the general public, students, overseas Cambodian communities, international museum personnel, visitors, scholars & researchers, the system operates on several levels, with the collections divided in original media categories that can be searched by inventory numbers (where known), media division, keyword title, geographic find location, or a combination of these categories in advanced search mode.