Smithsonian Institution Libraries

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL) system comprises 20 libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. SIL's holdings include 1.5 million volumes as well as a wide array of digital resources. The collections focus primarily on science, art, history and culture, and museology.^[1] SIL is continuously analyzing its mission and goals in order to best meet the information and knowledge needs of new generations of users, to strengthen research, and to reach through cyberspace those unable to visit the Museums personally.^[2] The SIL Catalog^[3] is part of the Smithsonian Research Information System (SIRIS) from which one can search 1.89 million records of text, images, video and sound files from across the SI. In 2008, SIL celebrated its 40th anniversary. Since 1997, the Director has been Nancy E. Gwinn, Ph.D.^[4]

Library locations

Most of the Smithsonian's libraries are located in the Washington, DC, area, where most of the Smithsonian Institution's museums and research centers are. Other locations include New York City, Suitland, Md., Edgewater, Md., and the Republic of Panama.^[5]

General collections locations are:

• Washington, D.C.
  • Anacostia Community Museum Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • Botany and Horticulture Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology (Washington, D.C.)
  • Museum Studies Reference Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • National Air and Space Museum Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • National Museum of American History Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • National Museum of Natural History Library (Washington, D.C.)
    • National Museum of Natural History Library, Invertebrate Zoology (Washington, D.C.)
    • National Museum of Natural History Library, Vertebrate Zoology (Washington, D.C.)
  • National Postal Museum Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • National Zoological Park Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum / National Portrait Gallery Library (Washington, D.C.)
  • Vine Deloria, Jr. Library, National Museum of the American Indian (Suitland, Maryland)
  • Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum of African Art (Washington, D.C.)
• Edgewater, Maryland
  • Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Library (Edgewater, Maryland)
• New York City, New York
  • Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library (New York, New York)
• Suitland, Maryland
  • Museum Support Center
• Republic of Panama
  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Library (Republic of Panama)

Special Collections

There are two primary Special Collections libraries within Smithsonian Institution Libraries. According to its mission statement, "The Special Collections Department arranges, describes, houses, and provides access to the rare books, manuscripts, and special collections held in the two dedicated special collections libraries of Smithsonian Institution Libraries: the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology and the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History. Access is provided to Smithsonian Institution curators, researchers, and other staff as well as outside scholars by appointment.^[6]

Additional special collections materials are held within the other library locations.^[7]

Rare book libraries include:

The Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology

It contains 35,000 books and 2,000 manuscripts in the history of science and technology.^[8] Established in 1976 with a donation from Bern Dibner, the Library is housed in the National Museum of American History, which reopened in 2008 after a major renovation.

The Cullman Library of Natural History

Included are some 10,000 volumes dated pre-1840 in the fields of anthropology and natural sciences.^[9]

Digital initiatives

There are several digital initiatives, conducted by increasingly cross-disciplinary teams that include staff from Digital Services, Metadata/Cataloging, Reader Services, and other Libraries departments. They include publications, images, collections and objects such as online exhibits, webcasts, finding aids, digital versions of print editions, bibliographies, etc. Examples ^[10] include:

• The Biodiversity Heritage Library, part of the Encyclopedia of Life
• Smithsonian Research Online, a database of citations and full texts of publications by Smithsonian scholars
• Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web, a database of online exhibitions worldwide
• Art and Artist Files in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
• Galaxy of Images, a database of images from the Libraries' book and manuscript collections

Smithsonian Libraries 2.0

Among the ongoing initiatives are a blog,^[11] Facebook page, Flickr page,^[12] and a Twitter feed.^[13]

Fellowships and internships

SIL offers fellowships for historians, librarians, doctoral and post-doctoral scholars wishing to conduct research in the history of science and technology or in areas pertaining to other special collections.^[14] Also offered are internships opportunities for students and others.^[15]

Grammar

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries Fact Sheet states that the "Smithsonian Libraries, though a plural noun, is consistently followed by a singular verb because it is considered a system of libraries, with individual locations operating under the aegis of a central administration and adhering to a common mission.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.sil.si.edu/Press/PDF/SILFactSheet.pdf
2. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries: Strategic planning". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://smithsonianlibraries.si.edu/smithsonianlibraries/2009/03/strategic-planning.html. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
3. ^ "SIRIS-Smithsonian Institution Research Information System". Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. http://siris-libraries.si.edu/. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
4. ^ Newsdesk: Staff biographies - Nancy E. Gwinn
5. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries :Locations". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://www.sil.si.edu/Galaxy.cfm?id=2.7. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
6. ^ "Special Collections Department". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://www.sil.si.edu/Galaxy.cfm?id=1.3/. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
7. ^ "Special Collections Department". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://www.sil.si.edu/Galaxy.cfm?id=1.31/. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
8. ^ "Special Collections | The Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology". Dibner Library. http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/Dibner/. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
9. ^ "Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History". Cullman Library. http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/cullman/index.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
10. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries :Digital Library". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalLibrary.cfm. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
11. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries". Smithsonianlibraries.si.edu. http://smithsonianlibraries.si.edu/smithsonianlibraries/. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
12. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries' Photostream". Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
13. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries' Photostream". Twitter. http://twitter.com/silibraries/. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
14. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries :Fellowship Opportunities". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://www.sil.si.edu/Galaxy.cfm?id=3.3. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
15. ^ "Smithsonian Libraries :Internship Opportunities". Smithsonian Institution Libraries. http://www.sil.si.edu/Galaxy.cfm?id=3.2. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 

External links

• Smithsonian Institution Libraries FAQ
• Smithsonian Institution Libraries Catalog
• Galaxy of Images
• Internet Archive: Books sponsored by or from the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
• Association of Research Libraries: Celebrating research: Smithsonian Institution Libraries
• Librarians' Internet Index: Websites you can trust. Smithsonian Institution Libraries
• Reference.com: Smithsonian Institution Libraries