Welcome to the Smithsonian Institution Archives’ new home on the web! Since joining the Archives, I’ve been impressed by the staff’s enthusiasm for the collections are custodians of, and their level of commitment to making the collections available and useful to researchers and enthusiasts. It is our hope that this new website will make it easier to carry forward their commitment to audiences far and wide.

It is a good solid foundation on which to build, and we welcome you to take a tour of some of the features we plan to grow over time:

• a new Collections Search feature that provides online access to all of the Archives' records catalogued to date with the ability to download media for free personal and educational use, as well as to make reference requests directly from the Archives’ collection guides;
• dedicated pages on the history of each Smithsonian museum, research center, as well as resources on the overall history of the Smithsonian including a timeline of major events in Smithsonian history, and historic pictures of the Smithsonian;
• access to over 4,000 Finding Aids, which serve as guides to the Archives’ collections, that have been optimized for search to help the public more easily explore the 35,000 cubic feet of records held by the Archives;
• new online forums for the public to ask reference questions, and get tips on collections care and records management, from Archives staff.

Take a tour by watching the video below, or just jump in. And please do let us know what you think.