Eden Killer Whale museum records to become digitally accessible to all

"It makes the collection so much more accessible to the community and allows them to interact with it wherever they are in the world. If you have an internet connection you can interact with our collection," Ms George said.

The museum previously used a program called Collections MOSAiC, a management system designed for keeping an online archive of items, but Ms George said the new system eHive was considerably more user friendly.

The innovative web-based system would allow volunteers to enter data associated with items in the collection, simultaneously, from different locations without the requirement of being in Eden, also reducing the physical space needed to keep records.

"It all runs online, so if you've got a password to get into it you can work on it anywhere. I can have volunteers entering data at home in Merimbula, Bega, Sydney, London," she said.

"[eHive] records where it came from, its significance, keywords and associations, so you can actually click on 'Maritime Safety' and it will bring up all the things in your collection related to that theme."

Within a room only accessible by electronic fob, large grey storage cabinets, which would slide back and forth along a track for access, filled much of the space, each shelf contained tightly packed folders of accession files and photographs.

By converting the records into an online catalogue, both for private and public records, space would be freed up within the building to house further historical pieces.

"[eHive] have back-up systems in multiple places so your data is very safe, you're unlikely to lose it because I think [they are saved in] three different geographical places including one in America," Ms George said.

She estimated digitisation would take up to three months, and once completed would allow the public to access the catalogue online for free.