Put Your Museum Collection Online Safely
Updated October 23, 2026
A small museum puts its collection online safely by cataloging privately first, then publishing only the name, description, and photos of each object it chooses to share — never donor details, appraised values, or exact storage locations. This is a deliberate, object-by-object (or batch) decision you control, not an all-or-nothing export. Done well, it means the public sees your stories and images while sensitive information stays inside your private workspace permanently.
Why "private by default" matters
Most small museums and family collections hold information they would never want public: what an object is worth, exactly where it's stored, or private details about the donor who gave it. At the same time, the whole point of a collection is to be seen and understood — by family, by researchers, by the public passing through town.
The right approach is to catalog everything privately first, with no pressure to decide what's shareable while you're still documenting. Publishing is a separate, later, deliberate step — not something that happens automatically just because an object has a record.
How publishing works in MuseumBuild
New museums in MuseumBuild start private-by-default. Every object you catalog, import, or accession stays in your private workspace until you explicitly choose to publish it. Publishing copies the object's name and description to the public page as they are at that moment — a snapshot, not a live mirror of your private record. The public page shows the object's photos, except any you hide.
Donor details, appraised values, and exact locations are never published, no matter what. If you later edit the private record, the public page doesn't change until you publish again, so you always control exactly what version of the name and description the public sees.
If you decide something shouldn't be public anymore, Withdraw removes the public copy instantly. Both publishing and withdrawing are recorded in the museum's audit history, so there's always a clear record of what was shared and when.
Choosing what to share, object by object
You don't have to publish everything at once, or ever. The Objects list supports batch actions, so you can select a group of objects — say, everything in a finished exhibit — and publish or make them private together, rather than clicking through one at a time.
Photos have their own layer of control too: each photo has a 'Hide from Digital Museum' setting, which keeps that specific image off public pages without deleting it from the object's record. That's useful for a photo that shows something sensitive in the background, or simply isn't ready for public view yet.
QR labels and the walkable 3D tour
Every object gets a permanent QR label the moment it's cataloged, printable on demand. Scanning it opens the object's public page if the object has been published. If it hasn't, the visitor sees a message explaining that the object is part of a private collection and isn't displayed online — nothing sensitive leaks through an unpublished label.
Published objects can also appear in a walkable 3D museum tour and on digital exhibit pages, built from your approved, reviewed records. That means the same work you do to catalog and describe an object properly feeds directly into the public experience, without a separate publishing system to maintain.
Connecting to the wider museum world
Once you're comfortable publishing, MuseumBuild extends your reach automatically. Every museum is a standing OAI-PMH repository, which means services like the Digital Public Library of America can harvest your published records. The platform also speaks IIIF, so your public collection can open correctly in scholarly image viewers used around the world.
This happens with no export step — it's built on the same published records you already approved, so there's nothing extra to prepare or maintain.
A practical order of operations
Catalog and accession normally, without worrying about public visibility. Add condition notes, values, and exact locations as part of good collection practice — they stay private by design.
When an object's record and photos are ready for public eyes, publish it (or batch-publish a group). Check back periodically: if a description changes, republish so the public page reflects the update. If anything should come down, withdraw it — the change takes effect immediately.
- Catalog and accession the object privately
- Review the description and photos you're comfortable sharing
- Hide any individual photos that shouldn't appear publicly
- Publish the object (singly or as part of a batch)
- Republish after edits; withdraw at any time if needed
Common questions
Will donor names or appraised values ever appear on the public page?
No. Publishing copies only the name, description, and photos you approve. Donor details, values, and exact locations are never part of the public copy and never leave your private workspace.
Can we publish some objects but keep most of the collection private?
Yes. Publishing is decided object by object, or in batches you select from the Objects list. There's no requirement to publish everything, or anything, before you're ready.
What happens if someone scans the QR label of an object we haven't published?
They see a message explaining the object is part of a private collection and isn't publicly displayed online. No private details are shown.
If we edit an object's description after publishing, does the public page update automatically?
No. The public page reflects the name and description as they were at the moment you published. Publish again after edits so the public copy matches your current record.
Do we need special technical setup to be harvested by services like DPLA?
No. Every museum is automatically an OAI-PMH repository and speaks IIIF for published objects, with no export step required.
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