A few months ago, a ceremony announced the Libraries’ electronic edition of the Escadrille N.124 Journal de Marche et Operations (i.e., the “combat logs”) of the legendary squadron of American aviators who served in the French Air Force during World War I, known more affectionately as the Lafayette Escadrille.
Author: Liz O'Brien
2012 was a spectacular year for fundraising at the Smithsonian Libraries. The fiscal year began in October with a $1 million leadership gift for acquisitions relating to the American Experience from Augustus and Deanne Miller. Gus, an alumnus of the Smithsonian National Board, now serves as Chair of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and chairs the Libraries’ campaign.
The Smithsonian Libraries will award grants to Dibner Library Resident Scholars and Baird Society Resident Scholars for the 2014 calendar year. These competitive short-term grants are offered for one to six months to historians, librarians and bibliographers, as well as predoctoral and postdoctoral students, with an approved research project.
John Dick, head of gifts and exchanges at Smithsonian Libraries, recently contacted the Roman Catholic Nunciature (the representative of the Holy See in the United States) to offer Le Vatican et la basilique de Saint-Pierre de Rome – a four-volume, oversized publication on interior decoration in the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, published in Paris in 1882.
The Smithsonian Libraries has received an unrestricted donation of $1 million from Hope L. and John L Furth. This extraordinary gift builds upon the Furth’s existing endowment to the Smithsonian Libraries begun in 2005, which is used to further the Smithsonian Libraries’ mission and strategic initiatives.
Grace Costantino, Program Manager for the Biodiversity Heritage Library, was awarded a National Museum of Natural History Peer Recognition award as “Social Media Maven” at the building’s ceremony on December 11.
The Smithsonian Libraries, in conjunction with the National Museum of Natural History, will host a series of lectures on both Mark Catesby’s art and science for the Catesby Commemorative Trust on Tuesday, November 6. This gathering celebrates the 300th anniversary of Englishman Catesby’s arrival in North America. The visit to the Smithsonian is part of a six-day, three-city symposium that will include lectures by more than 20 presenters from various disciplines including art, wildlife, natural history, conservation and economics.
The English naturalist published The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands in three volumes from 1729 to 1747, making it the first published account of the flora and fauna of the New World. The Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Rare Book Library contains a first edition copy of The Natural History, which will be displayed after the symposium. This work, along with others by Catesby, can also be seen online at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
This event is FREE and open to the public!