Description: Ellen Roney Hughes’ supposition in 1999 was “Well, I think it’s still a man’s world at the Smithsonian.” This may hold some validity due to recent discoveries at the Smithsonian.
Description: When I started working with museums in 2005, the concept of crowdsourcing was in its infancy. That year, James Surowiecki ‘s book, “The Wisdom of Crowds,” was published and there were tiny experiments in crowdsourcing occurring in the cultural heritage sector. There were hesitations and objections about the whole concept within the GLAM (gallery, library, archive, museum)
Description: Volunteers have been an integral part of the Smithsonian since the beginning. As our historian Pamela Henson likes to say, we have always relied on the kindness of strangers. A blog post in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month 2015. Includes a list of Smithsonian crowdsourcing projects that volunteers can participate in.
Description: A daily photo highlight from Smithsonian collections. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="368" caption="Guion S. Bluford poses with his spacesuit in the National Air and Space Museum for a Smithsonian public service announcement, May 21, 1984, by Kim Nielsen, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 371 Box 4 Folder July 1984, Negative number: