eMob is coming to the end of its Pilot Phase. First stage consultation with communities and museums has taken place, research visits have been carried out at five UK museums, database design and input is finished for four museums, and development of the web-based resource is near to completion. Still to be undertaken is the final part of second round community consultation and proof-reading stage by both curators and communities. This final phase ensures that information provided on the web is as accurate as possible and meets the cultural protocols defined by each participant nation.

With increasing access to the internet, eMob becomes an economic and efficient means of providing information. However, the internet is not available or used by all, and the pilot project is also looking at ways of providing information that are not web based.

The communities involved in this project wish to locate their cultural material overseas, and there is an increasing desire by overseas museums to establish direct contact with the communities whose heritage they curate. Currently there is no readily available resource to access relevant information, and no facility to promote the necessary link between communities and the institutions concerned. The pilot project is developing such a facility and as well as acting as a feasibility study towards the wider implementation of an Online Guide for further Indigenous Nations and overseas institutions in the future.

For almost a decade, museums have been cataloguing their collections electronically. It is now possible for many museums to provide information about their collections in a format which can be imported into the Online Guide, making the compilation of such a resource increasingly time-efficient and cost effective.

With increasing access to the internet, eMob becomes an economic and efficient means of providing information. However, the internet is not available or used by all, and the pilot project is also looking at ways of providing information that is not web-based.

The project is funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the Murray and Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations Confederation (MLDRIN), and the World Archaeological Congress (WAC). The Archaeological Computing Research Group at Southampton University is providing IT development, support and hosting.