The musée du quai Branly makes its collections available to internet users, free of charge and for strictly cultural, informational, or research purposes: images and entries of the objects catalog, images and entries of the iconographic library catalog, references of the media library catalog, references of the archives catalog, and documentation of its collections, conform with its mission of public service.

Consultation occurs on the internet and in the rooms of the media library. All resources are referenced on the internet, though some are only accessible in their entirety in the media library.

For the first time, a museum gives access to the entirety of entries for objects preserved at the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac.

The correction of notices

In working with the collections, the objects have benefited from an inventory and digitization campaign with precedent. A program for correction, conducted from 2003 to 2005, has allowed for review and correction of entries that carry the words “Entry validated”, to update and standardize the information in the entries, gathered primarily from the inventory and files of the musée de l’Homme and the musée national des arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie. The corrections are currently still ongoing for the “Entries undergoing validation”.

The composition of the collections team that participated in the correction of the entries:

Rosario Acosta-Nieva (Americas), François-Ömer Akakça (Asia), Gaëlle Beaujean-Baltzer (Africa), Daria Cevoli (Asia), Hana Chidiac (North Africa and Middle East), Mathieu Claveyrolas (Asia), Christian Coiffier (Oceania), Natacha Collomb (Asia) ,Roberta Cortopassi (textiles and clothing), Françoise Cousin (textiles and clothing), Marine Degli (Americas), Hélène Delaporte (musical instruments), Guy Désiré (Americas), Emmanuel Désveaux (Americas), Marie-France Fauvet-Berthelot (Americas), Amaëlle Favreau (Africa), Aurélien Gaborit (Africa), Aurélie Helmlinger (musical instruments), Christine Hemmet (Asia), Jérémie Jammes (Asia), Hélène Joubert (Africa), Marina Lafay (Océania), Jean Lambert (North Africa and Middle East), Jean-Luc Lambert (Asia), Yves Le Fur (Oceania), Madeleine Leclair (musical instruments), Ping-Tsung Li (Asia), Antoinette Maget (History collections), Constance de Monbrison (Oceania), Anie Montigny (Asia), Philippe Peltier (Oceania), Florent Petit (Asia), Fabienne de Pierrebourg (Americas), Frédérique Riviale (Americas), Coralie Schwander (Océanie), Sophie Seignour-Faye (Africa), Nanette Snoep (Africa, History collections), Anna Takino (Asia), Marie-Hélène Thiault, Fanny Vieille-Blanchard (Asia), Marie-France Vivier (North Africa).

Sensitive objects

For ethical reasons, some objects have a listing that takes into account their nature: this is the case of objects incorporating human remains or sacred objects.

On the internet, the entry will be displayed without photographs for the Djuringa, the plastered heads of New Zealand, and the majority of mummies from the Americas.

Former titles

The History Collections include objects linked to the history of discovery and French colonial history. The period most represented is the 19th century, until the 1930s.

Titles and legends of these periods, making up some of these objects, are liable to offend the internet public. They have been preserved to return to the public the collection as it was transmitted, and so they are an integral part of the objects. They appear in “Original title” or “Original legend” They have, as often as possible, a supplemental “Historic context”.

The iconographic museum counts nearly 700,000 pieces: photographs, prints…The first uploading to the internet of the collection included more than 100,000 digitized documents, photographs mostly accompanied by their descriptive entries.

For each commercial or non-commercial use of the photographs of the iconographic library, see methods of request.

Enrichment of the uploading

The uploading of the collection of the iconographic library will be enriched with the information on pieces in the collection, acquisitions and scientific research on the subject, but also by the digitization that continues at present, as well as freeing of copyright.

Former titles

The photographs of the iconographic library are digitized on the mounting cardboard of the photographic library of the Musée de l’Homme, dating mostly from 1938, so as to restitute for the public the collection as transferred. The legends of the some cardboard mounting include terms liable to offend the internet public, in the entry of the photograph under the rubric “Original legend”.

Sensitive photographs

Some photographs are liable to offend the internet public. This is why, it is only possible to post stories about photographs representing illnesses, excisions, infibulations, foot-binding, corporal punishment, prepared cadavers, and head-shrinking. The entries will not be accompanied by description for photographs of cadavers or remains of identified persons. Only justified consultation will be possible, at the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, by appointment.

Access to digitized documents

Consultation of the archives and of documentation of the collections gives access to the references of documents as well as their descriptive entries. The collections digitized are consultable on the intranet. According to enforced legislation on the archives, the consultation of originals and of virtual dossier is made by an access request in the archives and documentation consultation room.

The entries of the documents of the media library are composed of bibliographic information and data specific to one record. It is thus possible to know the availability of a work and its return date, should it be borrowed.

The media library of the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac has adopted a double numbering system.

Open access documents

are numbered according to the numbering system of the Library of Congress in Washington, the   la Library of Congress Classification, LCC. The numbers correspond either to a theme of anthropology (GN), museums (AM), or history (N); or to the civilization of a specific continent.

The documents kept in storage

have a classification by format. A letter indicated the origin of the collections at the beginning of the number : F- for documents from the library of the former Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie ; MH- for documents from the library of the Musée de l’Homme ; N- for acquisitions and gifts of the media library of the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac.

Copyright

Among the collection of the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, some objects and documents are works under copyright. Some authors and copyright holders have not been identified. In the situation that a scientist, an author, or a copyright holder comes to identify undoubtedly the author of one of the works, the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac requests that the form  be completed and returned to the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac by registered letter with certified delivery. The musée de quai Branly reserves the right to have to opportunity to review each claim of authorship of works presented on the site, conform to the provisions of the Code of Intellectual Property.

Image copyright

For the documents that represent identifiable persons, the musée du quai Branly requests users who recognize themselves or their close family, of whom they are legal successors, to fill out the form that authorizes the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac to reproduce the image of the person represented.