Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL)

Nancy E. Gwinn, Director

At the center of research across the Smithsonian are the specialized branches and librarians of the Smithsonian Libraries. The contents and staff play a key role in helping the Smithsonian’s research and curatorial staff makes sense of the museums’ almost innumerable, often unique, objects and their cultural and historical contexts. The Smithsonian Libraries is a hidden national treasure, where experts come to test and expand knowledge and where America and the world can turn for authentic answers.

Behind the amazing museum exhibits and definitive writings of the Smithsonian Institution there are over 1,500 research and curatorial staff; many of whom are leading authorities in their fields of science, history, culture and the arts. Behind the walls and websites of the Smithsonian’s museums, these researchers and curators have access to the specialized resources they need to ensure the accuracy of their work and to advance knowledge in their fields. These essential resources are embodied in the collections and staff of the Smithsonian Libraries.

The Smithsonian Libraries is a network of 20 specialized research libraries supporting each of the Institution’s museums and initiatives. The subjects comprehended by this globally unique complex of libraries and librarians are as diverse and deep as the collections, exhibits and scholarship they support. They truly span the range of scientific and cultural pursuits of humanity from aerospace, anthropology, astronomy, astrophysics and art history to biology and botany, to cultural history, portraiture, philately, zoology and much, much more.

While sharing the values, methods and efficiencies of a unified network, each library in the system nonetheless is unique in itself. Each one supports the work of its own community of interest comprising specialized researchers and curators of the museums, as well as visiting scholars, educators, students and others pursuing or advancing knowledge in their fields.

The Smithsonian Libraries and their highly qualified librarians help each of their communities by not only collecting, preserving and sharing the often original materials needed to source and verify facts. They also provide valuable guidance and support to these users, directing them to the most relevant on-site or on-line sources and helping them frame and executive productive research strategies.

Individually each library is among the world’s greatest repositories of knowledge for the specialized fields they support. Collectively they are among America’s greatest scientific and cultural treasures. They belong to the nation, and through their expanding online presence and digitization initiatives, more and more people from across the country and around the world are able to access their vast resources. The Smithsonian Libraries serves the Institution and the public through support of Smithsonian-related curatorial, research, exhibition, and educational and outreach activities. The Smithsonian Libraries is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Chesapeake Information and Research Library Alliance (CIRLA), and the Federal Library Information Center Committee (FLICC). The Libraries participates in the reciprocal borrowing and interlibrary loan programs of OCLC, an international bibliographic utility, and is a member of the RLG Partnership, with over 22,000 participating libraries, museums and archives.

The Libraries’ collections of approximately 2 million volumes is available to Smithsonian staff, visiting researchers, and other scholars working in Smithsonian facilities in Washington, DC, Maryland, New York City, and the Republic of Panama. Users who visit the Libraries’ online research page (http://library.si.edu/research) and ejournal and database pages (http://qr7ug7ul2q.search.serialssolutions.com) have access to over 200 databases, 20,023 electronic journals, and 100,461 electronic books. Library collections are particularly strong in natural history, tropical biology, ecology and environmental management, wildlife conservation, American ethnology and culture, American history, the history of science and technology, aviation history and space flight, postal history, design and decorative arts, African art, American art, modern and contemporary art, Asian art, horticulture, conservation, and museum administration. Collections in African American and Latino history and culture are growing steadily. In addition, the Libraries holds a distinguished collection of 50,000 historically important rare books and manuscripts and 500,000 examples of manufacturer’s commercial trade catalogs, representing 30,000 companies, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. Smithsonian Libraries is also the leader of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org), a consortium-built digital library, which contains over 140,000 volumes of natural history and botanical texts.

The Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) includes the online catalog of library collections as well as automated acquisitions, circulation, and other library functions. Holdings are accessible through the Internet at http://siris.si.edu. Records of the Libraries collections are also accessible through OCLC, and the Libraries maintains access to this and other national library and commercial databases. The Smithsonian Libraries website presents a constantly increasing variety of content in science, American history, art and design, and industry and technology. SI researchers demand continuous, instant access to information, and the Libraries’ staff delivers reliable information to internal and external users when and wherever it’s needed, from whatever source. See https://library.si.edu/. Digital offerings include full texts of rare books, collections of unique research resources, online exhibitions, resource guides, newsletters, and other SI Libraries publications, and links to other web resources in Smithsonian areas of interest. The Smithsonian Libraries’ Galaxy of Images (http://www.sil.si.edu/imagegalaxy) opens up our collections in a way never possible before. These images are a growing sample of the library materials that support the research of the Smithsonian.

In addition to providing customary library services, the Smithsonian Libraries serves the Institution and the general public through education and outreach programs, including exhibitions, lectures, and publications, and through internship and volunteer programs.

The Smithsonian Libraries offers three programs for Resident Scholars to use Special Collections: The Dibner Library Resident Scholar Program, the Spencer Baird Society Resident Scholar Program, and the Margaret Henry Dabney Penick Resident Scholar Program. Dibner Library Resident Scholars conduct research using rare works from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. The core of the holdings of the Dibner Library consists of approximately 10,000 rare books and manuscripts that were generously donated to the nation by the Burndy Library (founder, Bern Dibner) on the occasion of the nation’s Bicentennial (1976). The strengths of the Dibner Library collection are in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, classical natural philosophy, theoretical physics (up to the early 20th century), experimental physics (especially electricity and magnetism), engineering technology (from the Renaissance to the late 19th century), and scientific apparatus and instruments. The rare books, which date from the 13th to the 20th centuries, include significant holdings of works by Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Euclid, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Leonhard Euler, René Descartes, Pierre Simon, Marquis de Laplace, and Aristotle. Scientists represented by significant manuscript papers include Dominique François Arago, Humphry Davy, John William Lubbock, Isaac Newton, Henri Milne-Edwards, Hans Christian Ørsted, Henry Hureau de Sénarmont, Benjamin Silliman, Jr., and Silvanus P. Thompson. The Dibner Library collections support the research interests of Smithsonian staff in the National Museum of American History, and provide valuable resources for other Smithsonian and external museums and researchers. This program is supported by the Dibner family.

Baird Society Resident Scholars undertake research in Special Collections located in Washington, D.C. and New York City. These special collections include printed materials on world’s fairs in the Dibner Library (19th and early 20th centuries); trade literature in the National Museum of American History Library used to study American industrialization, mass production, and consumerism; natural history rare books in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History (pre-1840 works on topics such as botany, zoology, travel and exploration, museums and collecting, geology, and anthropology), as well as James Smithson’s library; air and space history in the National Air and Space Museum Library’s Ramsey Room (ballooning, rocketry, and aviation, late 18th to early 20th centuries); and European and American decorative arts, architecture, and design in the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Library’s Bradley Room (18th to 20th centuries).

The Margaret Henry Dabney Penick Resident Scholar Program was founded by a bequest of Mrs. Margaret P. Nuttle. The Penick Resident Scholar Program supports scholarly research into the legacy of Patrick Henry and his political circle, the early political history of Virginia, the history of the American Revolution, founding era ideas and policy-making, as well as science, technology, and culture in colonial America and the Early National Period. The Libraries also provides guidance and contact information to relevant historical collections in the Washington, DC area, especially regarding the holdings of Patrick Henry materials and resources of the pre-American Revolution and the colonial era.

Additionally, the Libraries offers The Neville-Pribram Mid-Career Educators Award, which allows mid-career educators to be in residence and utilize the Smithsonian Libraries distinctive collections, focusing on science, history, culture and arts. The awards are open to middle and high school teachers, college teachers, and museum educators working on curriculum development or publications in print or electronic form. Recipients are awarded a short-term residency at the Warren M. Robbins Library at the National Museum of African Art. They are offered an opportunity to conduct research in the arts of Africa and related fields of African culture and history. The Library offers excellent resources for developing curricula relating to Common Core, Core Arts Standards, and Advance Placement curricula.

DIRECTOR’S OFFICE

FRAMPTON, Susan R., Program Coordinator. B.A. (1972), M.L.S. (1974) University of Pittsburgh. Research specialties: Exhibition and project management; exhibition programming.

GWINN, Nancy E., Director. B.A. (1967) University of Wyoming; Fulbright Fellowship, Oxford University (1967-68); A.M.L.S. (1969) University of Michigan; Ph.D. (1996) George Washington University. Research specialties: Library history and 19th-century American cultural history.

KALFATOVIC, Martin, Associate Director, Digital Services. B.A. (1983), M.S.L.S. (1990) Catholic University of America. Research specialties: Information technology.

KHATER, Polly, Assistant Director, Discovery Services. B.A. (1990), La Salle University, M.L.S. (1992) University of Pittsburgh. Research specialties: cataloging, acquisitions, discovery and technical services.

THOMAS, Mary A., Deputy Director. A.B. (1973) Mount Holyoke; M.S. (1978) Catholic University of America. Research specialties: Library administration; Smithsonian Libraries history.

DISCOVERY SERVICES

ASHLEY, Lowell E., Head, Original Cataloging Section. B.A. (1963) Emory and Henry College; M.L.S. (1973) Vanderbilt University. Research specialties: Cataloging, cataloging of audiovisual materials, cataloging of music, cataloging of electronic resources, authority control.

BLAKELY, Julia D., Librarian, Special Collections Cataloger. B.A. (1981), M.A. (1985) in art history, George Washington University; M.S. Columbia University (1988). Research interests: garden and horticultural books, landscape architecture, the British Embassy in Washington, private libraries.

DUNLOP, Douglas, Metadata Librarian. B.F.A. (1992), M.A. (1997), M.L.S .(2004) University of North Texas. Research specialties: Library and Information Science; Metadata.

GRAY, Harriet Hutson, Librarian, Interlibrary Loan Services. AB (1975) Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, M.T.S. (1980) Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA, M.S.L.S. (2000) Catholic University of America Washington, DC. Research specialties: Resource sharing and access, user centered library services and scholarly communication.

MISSELL, Elizabeth, Librarian. B.A. (1990) University of New Hampshire; M.A. (1994) George Washington University; M.L.S. (1997) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Provide new methods for the dissemination of traditional and hidden collections; Promote the sharing, reusing, and repurposing of data used in the processing of digital projects, traditional library materials, and unique hidden materials; Library systems administration and support.

PILSK, Suzanne Chernau, Librarian (Head, Metadata Unit). B.A. (1984) Trinity College, Hartford; M.L.S. (1987) Vanderbilt University. Research specialties: Library science, cataloging, metadata.

RILEY, Sheila Maureen, Head, Catalog Management Section. B.A. (1974) Marquette University. Research specialties: Library Cataloging, Metadata, Technical Services.

SHAW, Diane, Librarian, (Special Collections Cataloger). B.A. (1981) Agnes Scott College; M.A. (1983) Fordham University; M.S. (1986) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Research specialties: Rare materials cataloging; online exhibitions.

RESEARCH SERVICES

APPIAH-DUFFEL, Salima, Library Technician, Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Libraries, B.A., Tufts University; M.L.I.S., The Catholic University of America, Research specialties: Museum library services.

BAXTER, William E., Head, History and Culture Department. B.A., M.A. St. Louis University; M.S. Drexel University. Research specialties: U.S. history; special collections; history of psychiatry; history of science.

BROMAN, Elizabeth, Reference Librarian, Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library. B.S. (1995) City College, New York; M.S./M.L.S. (1999) Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. Research specialties: Decorative Arts, Art & Architecture, Gravestone Studies and Cemetery Art & Architecture, Pop-Up and Moveable Books, Rare Books.

BROOKE, Anna, Librarian, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library. B.A. (1964), M.L.S. (1965) University of California, Berkeley; M.A. (1988) American University. Research specialties: Contemporary and modern art.

BROWN, Katrina, Instruction/Reference Librarian, National Museum of American History Library. B.A. (1988) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.L.S. (2006) University of Maryland at College Park. Research specialties: American history and culture; library instruction.

BULLARD, Kristen, Natural Museum of Natural History Library and National Zoological Park Library. B.A. (1993) Texas A & M University; M.S.L.S. (2003) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research specialties: conservation biology.

CHANG-YAU, Vielka, Librarian, Earl S. Tupper Tropical Sciences Library, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. B.A. (1971) Keuka College; M.A. University of Chicago. Research specialties: Library administration, library services, library management.

COHLMAN BRACCHI, Jennifer, Librarian. B.A. (1998) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; M.A. (2007) Queens College, City University of New York. Research specialties: digital project management.

COLLIER, Shauna, Librarian, National Museum of African American History and Culture Library. B.A. (1986) Jackson State University; M.L.I.S. (1996) University of Alabama. Research specialties: African American history and culture; family history, oral history and archival collections.

COTTRILL, Chris, Head Librarian, National Air and Space Museum Library. B.A. (1995) University of Maryland; M.L.S. (1998) University of Maryland. Research specialties: U.S. military and naval history.

DITTEMORE, Margaret R., Librarian, John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. B.A. (1971), M.L.S. (1973) University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D. (1983) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Anthropological bibliography, anthropology, Middle East, social science bibliography, research libraries especially collections.

EVENHAUGEN, Anne, Head Librarian, Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library. B.A. (2004) University of Mary Washington; M.L.S. (2007) University of Maryland at College Park; M.A. (2011) Stockholm University, Sweden. Research specialties: Contemporary art and art history and American history and culture.

LASKER, Patricia L., Reference Librarian, Natural Museum of Natural History Library, Vertebrate Zoology libraries. B.A. (1978) East Carolina University. Research specialties: Integrated library systems, database searching, reference assistance.

McCUTCHEON, Paul K., Librarian, National Postal Museum Library. B.A. (1982), M.L.S. (1989) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Reference in the history of aviation and space flight, philately and postal history, Asian art, African American history and culture; digitization and the preservation of library materials.

PHILLIPS, Kathryn, Assistant Head Librarian. B.A. University of Maryland; M.L.S. Catholic University of America. Research specialties: Art and architecture of the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

ROAN, James P., Reference Librarian, National Museum of American History Library. B.A. (1974) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Trade literature, material culture and history of science and technology.

ROSEN, Martha, Librarian, National Museum of Natural History Library. B.A. (1974) St. Mary’s College of Maryland; M.L.S. (1975) Indiana University. Research specialties: Marine Mammalogy, Mineral Science, Museum Studies, Natural History and Vertebrate Paleontology.

SHU, Yue, Assistant Librarian, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art Library. B.A. (1986) Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute; M. Ed. (1992) George Washington University; M.L.S. (2001) Catholic University of America. Research specialties: Chinese art.

SILVERSMITH, Elayne, Librarian, Vine Deloria, Jr. Library of the National Museum of the American Indian. B.A. (1987) Southwest Studies – History, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO; M.L.S. (1995) Emporia State University, KS. Research Specialties: Native American and Indigenous Studies, Native American Children’s Literature, and 20^th Century Native American political history.

SMITH, Carrie, Collections Management Librarian, History and Culture Department, Museum Support Center Library. B.A. (1997) Miami University, Oxford, OH; M.L.S., with a specialization in Rare Books, from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Research specialties: Rare children’s books and juvenilia.

SMITH, Michael, Assistant Librarian, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art Library. B.A. (1990), University of Maryland; M.L.S. (1999), Catholic University of America. Research specialties: Library Science, East Asian Studies.

STANLEY, Janet, Librarian, Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum of African Art. B.A. (1968) American University; M.S.L.S. (1970) Catholic University of America. Research specialties: African art bibliography and documentation.

TAYLOR, Gil, Supervisory Librarian, National Museum of Natural History Library. B.A. (1983), M.L.S. (1989) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Literature and bibliographic databases in the study of biology and the conservation of museum objects.

VAN DYK, Stephen H., Head, Art Libraries and Librarian, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library. B.A. (1972) William Paterson College; M.S. (1974) University of North Carolina; M.A. (Candidate), Rutgers University. Research specialties: Design and decorative arts and architecture, 19th and 20th centuries.

WILDER, Baasil, Librarian, Anacostia Community Museum and National Postal Museum Libraries. B.S. (1996) United States Military Academy, West Point; M.L.S. (2007) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research specialties: philately and postal history, ecomuseums and community museology.

YOSHIMURA, Reiko, Head Librarian, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library. B.A. (1981) Millersville University of Pennsylvania; M.L.S. (1983) Indiana University. Research specialties: Books and publishing in the Edo period (1600-1868), Japan.

DIGITAL SERVICES

BLASE, Julia, Project Manager, Field Books Project, Biodiversity Heritage Library. B.A. (2009) Duke University; M.M.S. (2010) Duke University Fuqua School of Business; M.L.I.S (2013) Denver University. Research specialties: Digital libraries; digitization; needs assessment; project management.

COSTANTINO, Grace D., Outreach and Communication Manager, Biodiversity Heritage Library. B.A. (2007) University of Maryland; M.I.M. (2010) University of Maryland. Research Specialties: Digital outreach and new media; Data analysis and visualization; Science education and Communication; Graphic design; Digital libraries.

CROWLEY, Bianca, Collections Coordinator, Biodiversity Heritage Library. B.A. (2003) University of Maryland, College Park; M.S.L.S. (2009) Catholic University of America. Research specialties: Digital library collection management; Project communication management and documentation; Copyright issues in digitization; User feedback.

HUTCHINSON, Alvin R., Information Services Librarian. B.A. (1986) University of Baltimore; M.L.S. (1988) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Science publishing and scholarly communication; Digital libraries.

RUSHING, Erin C., Digital Images Librarian and Internship Coordinator. B.A. (2002) University of Maryland; M.L.S. (2007) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Library outreach and education; Social media; Copyright issues in libraries and archives.

SHEFFIELD, Carolyn, Program Manager, Biodiversity Heritage Library. B.A. (2000) University of Maryland; M.L.S. (2006) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Digital libraries; metadata; needs analysis; program management; project management.

THOMPSON, Keri, Digital Projects Librarian. B.A. (1992) Carleton College; M.L.I.S. (2003) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Digital libraries, digitization, library evaluation and metrics, metadata.

PRESERVATION SERVICES

HAIGHT SMITH, Vanessa, Book Conservator. B.A. (1984) Washington College; Postgraduate Diploma (2006) West Dean College; M.A. (2007) University of Sussex. Research specialties: Library exhibition planning; study of book leathers; Seventeenth-century English binding.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

OVERSTREET, Leslie K., Curator of Natural-History Rare Books, Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History. B.A. (1971) Reed College; M.A.T. (1972) Reed College; M.L.S. (1988) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Descriptive (physical) bibliography of natural history literature; naturalist Mark Catesby (1683-1749).

VEKERDY, Lilla, Head of Special Collections, Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. B.A. (1982) Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest); M.A. (1984) Eötvös Loránd University; M.L.S. (1984) Eötvös Loránd University. Research specialties: History of medicine; Paracelsus (1493-1541); rare book and manuscript studies.