Australian Museums and Galleries Online (AMOL) Task Group

The Australian Museums and Galleries Online (AMOL) Task Group, which was chaired by the Australian Government, examined AMOL's role within the sector, particularly as a service provider for regional collections. The task group considered the findings of both the AMOL evaluation and the Study into the Key Needs of Collecting Institutions in the Heritage Sector.

The findings indicated that AMOL was a highly valued sector resource, particularly for smaller regional, remote and outer metropolitan organisations, providing online access to collections, online distribution of training material, practical technical advice on website issues and opportunities for these organisations to promote their collections to a wide audience.

However, the report also found that redevelopment of the site was required to fulfil its potential, particularly in regard to libraries and archives. Redevelopment of the website, utilising newly available technology, offered many opportunities for AMOL, including the potential to:

• Meet its original vision as a national portal offering access to the entire distributed national collection, effectively acting as a national virtual museum
• Provide the sector with the infrastructure to access images and information about the collections and the activities of both large and small museums, galleries, libraries and archives
• Significantly improve its level of service in the collections sector, especially those in regional and remote areas, by providing flexible support services involving the tailoring of information and advice to institutions to meet their individual needs and enhance the capacity of their own technological resources

In late 2003, the Cultural Ministers Council agreed out of session to proceed with the proposed redevelopment of AMOL.

AMOL content is now available on the Collections Australia Network.