Description: Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics.The reference team fields around 6,000 queries per year. Ask us what people have been researching recently, and you’ll get into some
Description: Did you know that the Smithsonian Institution has been collecting “specimens” related to the history of photography since photography was still considered a new technology? Learn about the evolution of our photography collection!
Description: Link Love: a weekly post with links to interesting videos and stories about archival issues, technology and culture, and Washington D.C. and American history.
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
Description: Oral history interviews sometimes reveal the central role that a mentor can play in the life of a young person, changing the road taken in that person’s life.
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Portrait of Albert Einstein and Others (1879-1955), 1931, by Unidentified photographer, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Accession number: SIL14-E1-10."][/caption] An interesting article on the complicated permutations of copyright law and images of publicity-savvy Albert Einstein. Our thoughts are with those dealing