Author Archives: Richard Naples

About Richard Naples

Richard works in the Digital Services Division of the Smithsonian Libraries and helps to manage data for Research Online, the bibliography and repository for scholarly output at the Smithsonian Institution.

Hirshhorn Library Welcomes UC Berkeley Externs

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Externs with Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads

It is no secret that today’s job market is a dog-eat-dog world. With unemployment rates at record highs, the future that many college graduates see on the horizon is a grim and scary place. However, University of California, Berkeley has created a program to help better prepare their students for the post-graduate battlefield. The Externship Program creates opportunities for students to get hands-on experience in a chosen career field during their winter break. The program is made possible by UC Berkeley alumni who generously share their time with undergraduates who are ready to explore a career. Depending on the sponsors availability, the externships can range from one day to one month. Although many other notable universities such as Cornell, USC, Boston College, and University of Pennsylvania have similar externship programs, it is still a relatively unknown opportunity. Below, Haley and Kaylie share their experience working at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Continue reading →

Altmetrics: the cat’s meow?

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This past week, you might have noticed the many news stories about killer cats. The research study about domestic cats’ impact on nature concluded that cats kill up to 3.7 billion birds and 20.7 billion mammals every year. Did you happen to pick up that the senior author on the paper was Peter Marra of the Migratory Bird Center, a research unit of the National Zoo, and one of his cowriters was Scott Loss, also of the MBC? While we are always excited by and proud of the research output of the Smithsonian, this is an example of a scholarly article having an impact in the public sphere—i.e. beyond just the scientific community. Does that matter? How does it matter? Is there a way for the organization sponsoring that research to measure impact of research output like this? These are the kinds of questions we can finally begin to tackle with the use of altmetrics.

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Spotlight on Open Access at the Smithsonian Libraries

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Founder James Smithson

Founder James Smithson

James Smithson bequeathed his fortune to the people of the United States with the clear impetus for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The Smithsonian Libraries takes that message to heart by striving to connect ideas and information to you, and all whom we serve. Consider this an overview of Open Access (with capital O and A) and open access (lowercase o & a) here at the Libraries. Long story short: if you have access to the internet, you have access to an increasing number of quality, peer-reviewed journals and scholarly publications (as long as you know where to look). Continue reading →

2013 Seed Catalogues Calendar

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The 2013 Seed Catalogues Calendar

Today’s post was written by Martin Kalfatovic, Associate Director of the Smithsonian Libraries and Program Director of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Did you ever wonder about some of those fabulous items that you see in the Smithsonian gift shops when you’ve visited the Smithsonian in person? Or maybe you’ve done some online browsing at the Smithsonian Store online? Perhaps it’s likely that you’ve run across Smithsonian collections-based gifts in your favorite store, too? Continue reading →