On June 5 and 6th, much of the world will be able to catch a glimpse of the planet Venus traversing across the face of the Sun. The “Transit of Venus” occurs when the planet passes between the Earth and the Sun, a rare occasion that has happened only seven times since the year 1600. Many folks in the modern era will have a chance to witness this remarkable occurrence twice in their lifetimes, as the last Transit occurred in 2004.
Author: Erin Rushing
Erin Clements Rushing is the Outreach Librarian for Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. She enjoys sharing the Libraries and Archives' treasures with new audiences and telling the stories from the stacks through various outreach efforts. She coordinates social media and the blog (Unbound), plans tours and manages the internship program. She also handles rights and reproductions for library collection images and acts as point person for copyright concerns. Erin holds an M.L.S from the University of Maryland, as well as a B.A. in History and Art History.
Meghan Doherty, Smithsonian Libraries Dibner resident scholar of 2009, has been awarded the second Notes and Records Essay Award at a reception at the Royal Society on 18th May, 2012.
Today, May 18th is National Bike to Work Day! Did you hop on your velocipede or walking machine for your commute today?
If you missed it, don’t worry. National Bike Month is celebrated throughout the month of May. Our Galaxy of Images has an entire collection of bicycle imagery to get you in the mood!
The Washington Art Library Resources Committee (WALRC) has awarded $5000 in funding to Freer | Sackler Library for a 2012 travel grant program. The purpose of the program is to provide short-term travel and lodging support for graduate students and scholars of East Asian art who need to use the library’s collection.
Five grants of $1000 each will be awarded on a competitive basis. These grants are meant for students and scholars residing outside the Washington metropolitan area.
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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”.
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.