Description: [caption id="attachment_8083" align="aligncenter" width="336" caption="The mysterious cabinet of curiosities with assorted film cameras perched on top, 2010, by Michael Barnes, SIA."][/caption] Last fall a piece of furniture showed up in the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) reception area. Aside from a few nicks, it is a large, handsome cabinet with drawers and double
Description: Some of you may recall the symbol of the United States Forest Service fire prevention program, Smokey Bear. Perhaps I am dating myself, however I distinctly recall posters and television commercials between Saturday morning cartoons depicting the almost human looking bear wearing his park ranger hat and blue jeans, with shovel in one hand and stern finger pointed with the
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: 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: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="336" caption="Uncle Beazley being unloaded at the Smithsonian’s Office of Exhibits Central model shop, February 2011, Courtesy of Office of Exhibits Central blog."][/caption] Even dinosaurs need their baths… The Office of Exhibits Central gives a behind-the-scenes peek into the dino maintenance of Uncle Beazley—the Smithsonian’s
Description: When disaster strikes your collections, it can be stressful, especially if you’ve neglected that emergency preparedness plan. MayDay is the perfect time each year to revisit preparedness, salvage, and recovery plans, and here are a few keys things to make sure you include to aid in your disaster response.
Description: On what better day than Election Day to follow up on that tidbit I dropped a couple weeks ago regarding a consultation about then-candidate Barack Obama’s dry-erase boards, a recent acquisition by the National Museum of African American History and Culture? These artifacts, along with archival material and other realia (in archives terms: a man-made three-dimensional object)
Description: A brief look at the history and attitudes towards women and Latin Americans at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute amplifies the significance of Dr. Oris I. Sanjur’s formal appointment as acting director in 2020.
Description: In celebration of Preservation Week 2016, here’s a brief overview of surveys and their role in preservation, as well as a look into an audiovisual survey currently taking place right here at the Smithsonian.