Director's Corner

I have just returned from a trip to South Africa and Kenya to work with African colleagues to create an African node for digitizing key volumes for our Biodiversity Heritage Library. Colleagues Martin Kalfatovic and Grace Constantino and I found African university and museum colleagues eager to participate and enthusiastic about sharing their biodiversity information with the world.  I was also privileged to visit the Smithsonian’s partnership program at the Mpala Research Centre, a nature reserve and ranch in central Kenya, where Princeton, the U. of Michigan, the Smithsonian and other Kenyan organizations are working collaboratively on studies ranging from ecology and botany to animal behavior and human-wildlife interactions.  It was a fascinating trip, which I’ll be reporting on later.  Meanwhile, have a safe and enjoyable July 4 celebration!

Smithsonian Libraries Celebrates New Gifts!

Two Smithsonian Libraries Board members made substantial gifts in support of our fund-raising campaign. Linda Gooden pledged $50,000 to create a Libraries Endowment for acquisitions, education, digitization and other programs in Aviation, Aeronautics, and Space Exploration. Lockheed Martin has provided an additional $50,000 to support the Libraries’ educational initiatives. Gooden is Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Services (IS&GS) business area and an officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation. She has served on the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board since 2010. 

Nancy Eaton made a $100,000 planned gift for the Director’s discretionary fund. Eaton  is Dean Emerita of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications at Pennsylvania State University  She currently serves as Board Chair of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. Nancy joined the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board in 2012.

BHL Leadership Positions Go to Libraries Staff

Nancy E. Gwinn, director, and Martin Kalfatovic, associate director for Digital Services, have been appointed to new positions within the global Biodiversity Heritage Library.

At its annual meeting in Cambridge, Mass. on March 16, the BHL Steering Committee for the US/UK program elected Gwinn as chair for a two-year term.In this position, she will guide the Committee as it oversees the continuing expansion and development of the digital collection, which now numbers over 100,000 volumes and nearly 40 million pages of biodiversity-related publications. She will also serve as the BHL representative on the Encyclopedia of Life Executive Council.

Also in March, Kalfatovic added the position of BHL US/UK program director to his other duties. In this position, he will guide the daily operations of the BHL, increasing the amount of digitized materials and making them more easily accessible to a wider audience. Martin will work to enhance partnerships with current members and encourage new partners to join the global digitization effort.

Global Philatelic Library Database Launched

The Smithsonian Libraries announces the formal launch of the GlobalPhilatelicLibrary.org website, a centralized information gateway to the world’s greatest philatelic research. Founding partners include the Smithsonian Libraries and the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., the Royal Philatelic Society London and the American Philatelic Research Library in Bellefonte, Pa.

First considered in 1888, the ambitious project has created a website that establishes a single destination—a responsive centralized gateway—by which philatelists around the world can search, locate and access philatelic research from partner libraries in real time, from any computer. Searchable listings of books and publications, as well as resource locations and access, are now just a click away, providing invaluable resources to those doing philatelic research. 

ALSO OF INTEREST

Two Smithsonian Snapshots Feature Vintage Works

The May 9^th Smithsonian Snapshot marked the May 11, 1820, anniversary of the launch of HMS Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage. The Smithsonian’s Newsdesk website featured one of our first editions of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, which is registered with the Darwin Census, no. 10143, and was acquired by the Smithsonian Libraries in 1976. SIL recently digitized the full text of this work for the BHL and also the Charles Darwin project at the American Museum of Natural History. It is also part of the Heralds of Science collection in the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology

Our vintage zoo guidebooks were highlighted on May 29 with a colorful image of an 1895 guidebook. The Libraries’ collections relating to zoos include more than 5,000 books and 185 serial titles on zoos and aquariums, animal behavior, husbandry, veterinary medicine, pathology, genetics, nutrition, wildlife conservation, biodiversity, and horticulture. For more information about this historical collection, visit http://www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/zoos/intro.htm.

Libraries Hosts First “Tweetup”

On April 26^th, our Book Conservation Laboratory (BCL) in Landover, Md. hosted the Libraries’ first ever tweetup. It was a success, and @SILibraries gained approximately 100 new followers during the tweetup's promotion and event. BCL staff resided at stations throughout the lab where participants learned how to sew a simple pamphlet book, use a Kensol hot foil stamper, and observe book repairs in progress. Tweetup attendees also participated in a mock collections disaster and learned how to protect collections in the event of flood or fire. One participant posted several photos on her Pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/missmelodylynn/book-conservation/.

Daniel Lewis and Joy Kiser Events

The Smithsonian Libraries welcomed Daniel Lewis, author of The Feathery Tribe: Robert Ridgway and the Modern Study of Birds, for a talk and book signing on Thursday, May 17. Ridgway (1850-1929) was the curator of the Smithsonian’s bird collections for forty-nine years. Joy Kiser gave a lecture and book signing on Wednesday, May 9. Kiser spoke on her new book America’s Other Audubon. Kiser used numerous images from the Libraries’ copy of Illustrations of the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, the making of which was the focus of her book and lecture.

Upcoming Events

Steve Berry’s Writers Workshop: On Thursday, October 18, the Smithsonian Libraries hosts New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry for a writers’ workshop at the National Museum of Natural History. The event is  being organized by Berry’s History Matters foundation, which helps raise funds for historic preservation organizations and projects around the world. Berry will teach the craft of writing, including story structure, effective dialogue, point of view, and his 11 Rules of Writing. The workshop will also include a discussion of the business of writing by Elizabeth Berry, who will draw on her expertise as the executive director of International Thriller Writers and her work as a literary marketing and sales professional.

Catesby Commemorative Trust Lectures: The Smithsonian Libraries, in conjunction with the National Museum of Natural History, will host a series of lectures on both Mark Catesby’s art and science on November 6. This gathering celebrates the 300^th anniversary of Englishman Catesby’s arrival in North America. The visit to the Smithsonian is part of a six-day, three-city symposium that will include lectures from more than 20 presenters from various disciplines that include art, wildlife, natural history, conservation and economics.  Organized by the Catesby Commemorative Trust, the symposium/tour is open to all Catesby lovers.  Go to http://www.catesbytrust.org/  for information about how to join the tour!