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Databases and Indexes
History of the Smithsonian Catalog:
The History of the Smithsonian catalog searches across
five databases documenting the history of the Smithsonian:
Smithsonian History Bibliography, Smithsonian History Chronology,
Smithsonian Legal Documents, Historic Images of the Smithsonian,
and Smithsonian Board of Regents. Results can be limited to
a single database or sorted by database. To search a single
database, select the combined keyword search screen and limit
your search to that database. To use the browse function for
a single database, use the limit function on your results
screen. See Special Topics tab for pre-set searches on special
topics on the history of the Smithsonian. To search the Catalog,
go to www.siris.si.edu and select the History of the Smithsonian Catalog.
- History of Smithsonian Bibliography
The History of Smithsonian Bibliography contains 1400 annotated bibliographic citations describing published and unpublished materials (books, journal and newspaper articles, dissertations, reports, lectures, and correspondence) about the history of the Smithsonian Institution. - History of Smithsonian Chronology
The History of Smithsonian Chronology contains 2400 records documenting significant events in the history of the Smithsonian Institution, from the life of James Smithson in the 1700s to the present. Events documented include new programs, buildings, exhibits, expeditions, expositions, important staff appointments, special events, and special acquisitions, etc. - Smithsonian Legal Documents
The Smithsonian Legal Documents contains 1300 citations to legal documents that are significant in history of the Smithsonian Institution, including statutes at large, court cases, wills and bequests, executive orders, legal opinions, and special reports. Some documents have been digitized, with links to text files. - Historic Images of the Smithsonian
The
Historic Images of the Smithsonian consists of 3000 citations
to historic images of the Smithsonian, primarily from the
Smithsonian Institution Archives. Types of images include
people, buildings, artifacts and specimens, exhibits, expeditions,
expositions, and special events, ranging from the Smithson
family in the 1700s to the present. Each entry consists
of text information about each image. Some images have
been digitized, and jpegs of those are available. - Smithsonian Board of Regents
The Smithsonian Board of Regents contains biographical information on the over 300 members of the Institution’s Board of Regents, from our founding in 1846 to the present. Entries consist of names, titles, birth and death dates, occupations, tenures as a Regent, public law appointing them, special roles as a Regent, type of Regent, the state they are from, biographical citations and sources of images.
For further information about the History
of the Smithsonian catalog, visit our website at
http://www.siarchives/history/main.html.
You can also reach us at Institutional History Division,
Smithsonian Institution
Archives, P. O. Box 37012, Capital Gallery Building, Suite
3000, MRC 507, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, Telephone: 202-633-5870,
Email: SIHistory@si.edu.
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Joseph Henry Papers Document Database:
A computerized, item-level index of documents related to
Joseph
Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Each
document is described by author, recipient, date, repository,
and number of pages, thus allowing for greater search flexibility
and the quick delivery of customized reports. For additional
information, please contact SIHistory@si.edu.
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Name and Subject Index:
One half of the Index to Finding Aids, the Name Index
is an alphabetical list of personal names appearing in the
Smithsonian Institution Archives' historical records and manuscript
holdings. Use it in conjunction with the Guide to the Smithsonian
Archives (1996) and the Smithsonian Institution Research Information
Service (SIRIS) to locate
records by or about secretaries, regents, Smithsonian staff,
benefactors of the Smithsonian, United States political figures,
notable foreign and domestic scientists, and other prominent
individuals. The second half of the Index to Finding Aids,
the Subject Index is an alphabetical list
of non-personal names and subject terms appearing in the Smithsonian
Institution Archives' historical records and manuscript holdings.
The index lists the dates for which subjects appear and the
record unit in which they appear. Use it in conjunction with
the Guide to the Smithsonian Archives (1996), SIRIS,
the Smithsonian Chronology and a variety of other information
files and databases listed in this brochure to find records
on the subjects you are interested in.
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Smithsonian Institution Research
Information System (SIRIS):
An interactive,
integrated system of research catalogs maintained by the Smithsonian
Institution's archives, libraries and research units supporting
the Smithsonian's research community. SIRIS has seven catalogs
available for searching. They include: Library Catalog; Archives and Manuscripts Catalog; Smithsonian American Art
Museum Research Databases; Research/Bibliographies
Catalog; History of the Smithsonian Catalog; National Air and Space Museum Directory of Airplanes; and a Cross-Searching Center that searches all resources in SIRIS. SIRIS
is accessible through the Internet at www.siris.si.edu.
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Topical Databases:
The Institutional History Division has prepared a series
of databases on special topics to provide access to documents
and images in our collections on the history of African Americans
at the Smithsonian, the history of women at the Smithsonian,
and on the Smithsonian's relationship to Latin America. Entries
in these databases describe letters, expedition journals,
images and other archival materials relating to the special
topic. Not all collections have been surveyed for the
topical
databases, but a wide and typical range of materials, such
as administration, art, astrophysics, botany, ecology,
geology,
history, and zoology, have been surveyed. To search one of
these databases, contact the Institutional History Division, SIHistory@si.edu.
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Revised 1/11/2008 |
