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National Library Week Virtual Meeting Backgrounds from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Screenshot of Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology background in use.

A year in to the COVID-19 pandemic and we’re guessing some of you might be missing your libraries. We know we are! To give your next video meeting some book-ish ambience and to celebrate National Library Week, we’ve put together a set of backgrounds that bring you into our spaces and, in some cases, right into the pages of our books.

Below are nine images just waiting to adorn your virtual walls. Some are recent photos of our library locations. Some are vintage views from the collections of Smithsonian Institution Archives. And a few are just favorite book illustrations with a collector’s vibe. Click on the image and save to your computer, then follow the instructions provided by your virtual meeting platform (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) to upload and use.

Library stacks in the National Museum of Natural History Library, main location.

Photograph of two people looking at books on library shelves.
National Museum of Natural History Library, main location. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Vintage juvenile aviation adventures shelved in the National Air and Space Museum Library‘s rare book room.

Photograph of 20th century book spines.
National Air and Space Library. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Reading room of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. Photo by Liz O’Brien.

Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Double-page plate, Dell’historia natvrale di Ferrante Imperato napolitano libri XXVIII (1599), detail.

Double-page plate, Dell’historia natvrale di Ferrante Imperato napolitano libri XXVIII (1599), detail. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Plate No. 215, Le garde-meuble, v. 1 (1839), detail.

Book illustration of book shelves with green curtains.
Plate No. 215, Le garde-meuble, v. 1 (1839), detail. Click to enlarge and download.

 

“Living Room”, The woman’s book v. I (1894), detail.

Book illustration of living room with fireplace.
“Living Room”, The woman’s book v. I (1894), detail. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Library Stacks, Lower Main Hall, Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Image no. SIA_000095_B31_F38_002, detail.

Black and white photograph of library with shelves of books and framed pictures.
Library Stacks, Lower Main Hall, Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Image no. SIA_000095_B31_F38_002, detail. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Conference on the Future of the Smithsonian, Smithsonian Library Exhibit, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Image no. SIA_000095_B41_F09_035, detail.

Black and white photograph of library display.
Conference on the Future of the Smithsonian, Smithsonian Library Exhibit, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Image no. SIA_000095_B41_F09_035, detail. Click to enlarge and download.

 

Museum of History and Technology Library, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Image no. SIA2010-2160, detail.

Color photograph of book spines on shelf, half red, half navy blue.
Museum of History and Technology Library, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 285, Image no. SIA2010-2160, detail. Click to enlarge and download.

 

 

 

 

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