To know the species distribution spatially and temporally, it is essential to have accurate occurrence or collection information. Faunal distribution information extracted from the accession register is of great value for the researchers and general public. Digitizing (photographic record) the corresponding specimens mentioned in the register is a useful baseline for future reference. This proposed project aims to digitize the accession register and selected specimens (birds and mammals to start with) of Government Museum, Chennai. These details gathered will be shared in the open access platform. These details gathered will be shared in the open access platforms. Once this is completed similar exercise will be carried out in 20 district museums in the state. All these places will be visited and the available registers will be digitized. There are two private museums with important collections namely Fr. Newton Museum in St. Joseph College, Tiruchirappalli and Gass Forest Museum, Coimbatore (houses various specimens of biodiversity hotspot – the Western Ghats). Efforts will be taken to digitize the catalogues and accession registers from these museums as well.

Apart from this, we also digitize biodiversity data from published literatures and unpublished records from individuals, mainly focusing on Tamil Nadu.