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Monday 23 February 2009

Parsonage Catalogue Online

A news release from Sarah Laycock, Collections and Library Officer:

The Parsonage's collection is now accessible online. The catalogue includes images and information on over 7000 items. The catalogue, made possible by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and a generous donation from a member of the Brontë Society, is a landmark achievement in the history of the museum, allowing global access to its remarkable collection.

Every January, the museum is closed for cleaning and conservation work, with object displays changed and different Brontë treasures introduced to ensure that items displayed through the previous year are protected and preserved and that there are new Brontë treasures for visitors to admire and appreciate. The museum is only able to display around 10% of its collection and it would be impossible for the whole of that collection to be exhibited at once. The new online catalogue will give visitors a chance to browse through the collection at their leisure and will give an indication as to its size and diversity.

The museum has recently undergone a major refurbishment allowing us to display more of our collections and improving the way objects are presented; making the museum much more interesting for visitors. The new on-line catalogue is also about making more of the treasures of our collections available for people to see, but in this case they can do so from anywhere in the world. So anyone with a passion for the Brontës’ shoes, china, jewellery or furniture, or wanting to read their letters, or just curious about them, can search the catalogue to learn more about them and see what’s kept in the museum’s stores as well as on public display

In conjunction with the museum catalogue, there is also an extensive research library catalogue listing thousands of entries including critical works, biographies, articles, film and drama archive material, journals and much much more. Simple and more advanced search options allow users to be as general or as precise as they need to be and for those who are planning a visit to the museum’s library, the online catalogue will enable them to plan what material they might like to see prior to a visit.

To search the catalogue simply click
HERE and follow the link on the homepage.

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