Description: In 2019, the Smithsonian faced the repercussions of the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown, but the institution is no stranger to the dreaded furlough.
Description: One of the things we do here at the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) is keep track of original records about donors and the objects they have given to the Smithsonian—and so we have donor and accession records dating back to our earliest years. Because of this, it’s common to receive a reference request beginning something like, “My great-great grandmother donated a