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: What's changed, and hasn't — the Fair Housing Act 50 years later. [via National Museum of American History]A 1749 book, The Governess, advocated for female literacy when the literacy rate was 40% in England. [via Smithsonian Magazine]The Library of Congress has archival materials of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and records on historical Supreme Court cases now
Description: S. Dillon Ripley, the eighth Secretary of the Smithsonian, wanted the Smithsonian to have a contemporary art museum. He worked tirelessly to persuade Joseph H. Hirshhorn (1899-1981) to donate his collections to the Smithsonian. On November 7, 1966, the collections of Hirshhorn officially came under the auspices of the Smithsonian. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden