T
omorrow, May 1st, marks the 161ist anniversary of the opening of the The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations in London. The Great Exhibition was a display of arts, culture, and of course industry, from around the world and remained open until October of that year. It was the first grand international exposition of the type that would later be called “world’s fairs”.
Month: April 2012
One of the truly wonderful “perks” of working at the Smithsonian Institution is being able to participate in presentations of current research. Recently I was lucky enough to attend a daylong Science Convivium at the Front Royal, Virginia headquarters of the National Zoological Park’s science arm, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI). What’s a convivium, you ask? Briefly, according to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary a convivium is a convivial gathering. Hmmm, alright. And if you’re being convivial you’re “relating to, or occupied with feasting, drinking, and good company”. Well, there was definitely good company, a nice lunch and a wine and cheese social hour in the afternoon!
This post was written by Alice Doolittle, a 2011 summer intern on the Botany-Horticulture Library. Interested in working with us this summer? Now is the time to apply! Visit our internship webpage. Applications close April 30th.
For a biologist who is also an aspiring librarian, what could be better than to spend the summer in the stacks within the National Museum of Natural History? During the summer of 2011, I spent several weeks at the Botany – Horticulture Library as a Professional Development Intern for Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
April 22nd – 28th is Preservation Week! In honor of the event, we will be hosting our first ever Tweet Up at the Book Conservation Lab on Thursday, April 26th. Follow along on Twitter with #SILTweetup. In the meantime, enjoy this post by Katie Wagner, our book conservator.
In honor of National Volunteer Week, please enjoy this illuminating post by National Museum of African Art branch library volunteer, Judy Schaefer. Judy is one of many hard working volunteers at the Smithsonian Libraries and we appreciate each and every one!
In 1902, Commander Eugène Lenfant traveled from Paris to Lake Chad in a mere 75 days. He was looking for a cheap, fast, and humane way to supply the French Sudan—”Afrique française” on the map—and he found one by ascending the Niger, Benue, Kebi, and Chari rivers all the way to the lake.
Greetings History, Art, and Culture digitization fans! 
This month we have the rare privilege of highlighting a dramatic turn in the history of early aviation though primary source material from the library at the National Air and Space Museum.
In addition to requests for donations, the Smithsonian Libraries builds its collections through a series of Amazon Wish Lists. The books featured in the wish lists not only fill core more »