On June 4, 2008 the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) issued the New Report on Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art. AAMD determined that it should refine the 2004 guidelines to affirm more clearly and tangibly their members' commitment to helping protect and preserve archaeological resources worldwide, and to strengthen the principles and standards used in making decisions regarding the acquisition of archaeological materials and ancient art.

The results, reflected in the 2008 guidelines are:

• The adoption of November 1970, the date of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import and Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, as an important threshold date when considering an acquisition
• Research protocols that are even more rigorous than those included in the previous guidelines
• And the establishment of a searchable Object Registry, which ensures an even higher level of public transparency for members' acquisitions

The Indianapolis Museum of Art will update their existing Acquisitions Policy in 2008 to reflect the new report from the AAMD. In addition, the IMA built the Object Registry Web site. The registry provides a centralized location for member museums to list acquisitions of archaeological material and ancient art made after June 2008 which do not have complete, recent ownership history.