Grand Canyon National Park, Museum Collection

The Grand Canyon Museum Collection preserves objects for research and exhibit purposes in order to document the area's unique cultural and natural history. Grand Canyon National Park staff have been preserving natural and cultural history items since the park was created in 1919.

There are two sets of numbers in the collection for each item. The accession number (currently in the 5,300's) is a unique number assigned to an object or group of objects which records from whom and on what date the objects were received. The catalog number (currently over 85,000) is assigned later and records the known history and a detailed description of the object for identification and research purposes. A catalog number is assigned to only one object or to a group of objects so closely related that to divide the objects into individual items would diminish the knowledge available from the group as a whole.

The Museum Collection focuses on objects from the Grand Canyon region. There are over 380,000 objects in seven different collections: archeology, ethnology, biology, paleontology, geology, archive manuscripts, and history.

Much of the collection has been microfiched and is available for study in that medium in the park's museum research facility (across from the Albright Training Center).

There is also a collection of over 19,000 black and white photographs. File copies maybe loaned (or purchased) for research and publishing projects. Information about purchasing/borrowing photos is as follows:

Most file prints are printed on 8x10" black & white glossy RC paper.
Sometimes an image's proportions may not fit an "8x10" ratio, so the image may be printed with white margins on the sides or top and bottom.
The cost of an 8x10 B&W photo print is $10.00. Checks should be made out to "National Park Service."
In the event that an image is "out of stock," it could take up to 8 weeks to have a reprint made.
A researcher may borrow up to 25 photographic prints at one time - for a period of up to 90 days. In order to borrow photos from the collection, the person's Social Security Number - or business ID number - is required to initiate the loan.
Unless identified as being in the public domain, or as being a National Park Service Photo, the Museum Collection does not hold Copyright to the images or artwork in the collection. It is the responsibility of the borrower to obtain copyright permission prior to publication or reproduction of an image in excess of "fair use."
Higher resolution .jpeg files of some images may be requested by e-mail Michael_Quinn@nps.gov- or by calling (928)638-7769.

The Museum Collection hours are: Tuesday - Thursday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, appointments are encouraged. Mondays and Fridays by appointment only. Call (928) 638-7769.

The Museum Collection staff will assist researchers in using the card index system to locate objects they are interested in studying.

Only the museum staff may retrieve and store objects in the storage areas. Random searches through storage areas are not allowed for security reasons and to reduce wear and tear on original objects.

Certain use rules are enforced: no food or drink in the collection, no smoking in the area, users must wear gloves while handling museum objects, and the objects must be handled properly and with care.

To locate objects in the museum collection, users must first search through the index card system. The cards are organized under a 4-line classification system using the Nomenclature Cataloging System and NPS Museum Handbook, Part II.

The filing systems are set up for each of the 6 main collections as follows:

ARCHAEOLOGY

Line 1: Archaeology
Line 2: Prehistoric, Historic, or Unknown
Line 3: Type of Material Used: mineral, vegetal, animal, etc.
Line 4: Further divided by type of material used:
Mineral: stone, ceramic, metal, glass, etc.
Vegetal: wood, fibers, reeds, paper, etc.

ETHNOLOGY

Line 1: Ethnology
Line 2: Culture Area: Southwest, California. etc.
Line 3: Cultural Group: Cerbat, Havasupai, Hopi, Navajo, Paiute, etc.
Line 4: Material Used: animal, clay, glass, plant, etc.

BIOLOGY

Line 1: Biology
Line 2: Kingdom: Protista, Lichenes, Plantae, or Animalia, etc.
Line 3: Major Group: Aves, Reptilia. Mammalia, etc.
Line 4: Filing Group following NPS Museum Handbook system: ex. Asteraceae, Lepidoptera, Canidae, etc.

PALEONTOLOGY

Line 1: Paleontology
Line 2: Stratigraphic Formation from which specimen was collected
Line 3: Major Group: identical to Line 3 list for Biology
Line 4: Filing Group: identical to Line 4 list for Biology

GEOLOGY

Line 1: Geology
Line 2: Material type ex. rocks, minerals, soils. etc
Line 3: Major Group, further divides material type ex. rocks are divided into igneous. sedimentary, or metamorphic.
Line 4: Filing Group, further divides major group (ex. sedimentary is divided into sand, clay, breccia, limestone,etc.)

HISTORY

Line 1: History
Line 2: Divided according to original function or purpose of the object, such as Personal Artifacts, Tools and Equipment, Communication Artifacts, etc.
Line 3: Further divided by purpose of object. Tools and equipment is divided into what type of work the tool or equipment was used for: agricultural, masonry, woodworking, etc. Some categories are so large that the objects are arranged by their specific object names. Communication Artifacts are divided by object names such as archive/manuscript collection, contract, diary, letter, map, photographic print, postcard, etc.
Line 4: Only used for archive/manuscript collections.