Description: I was intrigued to receive a tweet from a digital colleague over at the NY Times pertaining to a family story that could very well be solved at the Archives. I’m continuously surprised at the variety of papers we hold here, but by now, I shouldn’t be given how far-reaching and varied the scope of the Smithsonian has been through history. Back to the story. THE elephant that
Description: Ruth B. MacManus and Gertrude Brown bonded over their heavy workloads and shared experiences as working women in the Great Depression. Together, they helped improve a publication that does not bear their names: the Smithsonian Scientific Series.
Description: Each Smithsonian Institution Archives collection has a life story. That narrative, much like the biography of a person, can explain how a collection's photographs, letters, and documents relate to each other. Closer inspection may also reveal hidden connections to other archival materials and can help in identifying photographers and writers. This new blog series will turn a
Description: Birds of a feather flock together, especially if they are a pair of patriotic turkeys who took up residency at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Description: In their efforts to document the history of computing at the Smithsonian, volunteers are interviewing former staff to preserve their stories and experiences. Ching-hsien Wang was a force that helped libraries and archives make their collections accessible online and here are some early excerpts from our interview with her.
Description: In June, 2008, the Smithsonian was the 4th institution to join the Flickr Commons . One of the things I enjoy most as a visitor to the Commons is searching on a random word or phrase and seeing how that idea is represented. Six members of the Commons posted photos and tagged with ‘womensday’ in honor of the 2009 International Women's Day. I searched on ‘work’ and other related
Description: Just two days ago, the Smithsonian celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). It seems like just yesterday that we were all waiting for the doors to open; yet, so much has happened in the past year. Since President Barack Obama rang the bell that opened the museum, long lines and happy faces are
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Lafayette Park seen from the Old Executive Office Building, 1919, by Martin A. Gruber, Black-and-white photograph, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Martin A. Gruber Photograph Collection, 1919-1924, Local Number: SIA2010-1943."][/caption]