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Category: Biodiversity Heritage Library

The Concord Grape and American Wine Making

Julia Blakely
October 2, 2015
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The Concord Grape and American Wine Making
Ephraim Wales Bull (Dibner MS )
Ephraim Wales Bull tending his vines (Dibner Library, Smithsonian Libraries MSS202A )

 

Now that the season for harvesting grapes in New England is here, let’s raise a glass to Ephraim Bull, the originator of the all-time popular grape in America, the Concord. Readily associated with juice and jelly and long out of favor in viticulture, Concord grape is having a bit of resurgence with the interest in DIY home brewing and fermenting. If faced with an abundance of the easily grown grape on one’s garden fence or arbor, recipes and techniques for bottling your own wine are found in many online guides. For full appreciation, a toast to Bull, his grape and their faded wine history is in order.

 

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Beyond Shells: The Birth of Malacology

Grace Costantino
August 31, 2015
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Until the late 18th century, the study of mollusks was based largely on shells. Very little research or published information existed about molluscan anatomy and soft tissues. Giuseppe Saverio Poli, recognized by many as the father of malacology, changed this with his monumental publication, Testacea utriusque Siciliae eorumque historia et anatome (1791-1827).

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Bloch’s Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische

Erin Rushing
July 9, 2015
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For many Americans, mid-summer is best spent by the shore; beaches and lakes are traditionally packed this time of year. And if you’re lucky, that little time by the water will involve a glimpse at some aquatic life — a sand crab, a sea star, perhaps a fish or two. If your summer sightings have inspired an interest in fish (or perhaps you want to save yourself the sunscreen and view some wildlife from the comfort of your computer screen), one of our favorite sources of undersea imagery is the ichthyology work of Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723-1799).

 

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Fall 2015 Internship Opportunities

Erin Rushing
June 26, 2015
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Freer and Sackler Galleries LibrariesThe Smithsonian Libraries is pleased to announce two opportunities for Fall 2015 internships. Each project offers a unique learning experience that would benefit any student interested in library work. For students in undergrad or graduate library and information science programs, we are happy to work with universities to help students obtain academic credit or fulfill practicum requirements. These projects are particularly well suited for students with enthusiasm for instructional design or collections management. Applications will be collected until July 27 or until filled.

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What’s in a Name? The Related Talents of Mark Catesby and Gertrude Jekyll

Julia Blakely
June 22, 2015
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What’s in a Name? The Related Talents of Mark Catesby and Gertrude Jekyll

The Catesby Commemorative Trust launched the publication of The Curious Mister Catesby with a program at the National Museum of Natural History this past April. Smithsonian Libraries’ own Leslie Overstreet, a contributor to these various perspectives on Mark Catesby’s The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama islands (London, 1729-1747), spoke on that work’s long, complicated printing history. Another speaker, E. Charles Nelson, presented his research into the naturalist’s biography. His mention of the author’s maternal family name, Jekyll, caught my attention˗˗could this early 18th-century Englishman, who produced the great study of the flora and fauna of colonial America, be related to the later renowned horticulturist, influential garden designer and wonderful writer Gertrude Jekyll?

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Herding the Fuzzy Bits: What do you do after Crowdsourcing?

Grace Costantino
June 17, 2015
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So you’re a library or museum and you’ve been crowdsourcing and now you’ve collected lots of fantastic data. What do you do with it?

Or maybe you’ve been thinking about crowdsourcing but you’re not sure how you would integrate what you get with the data you already have.

The truth is that crowdsourcing often yields lots of fuzzy data and fuzzy solutions for reintegration with existing content. It can be challenging to figure out how to herd all of that fuzziness together in a useful way for reuse in your own project, library, or database.

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More Than Pictures of Lizards: The Value of Librarians and In-Person Instruction

Erin Rushing
May 15, 2015
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Kendra HurtThis post was written by Kendra Hurt, an Instructional Design Intern at the Biodiversity Heritage Library & Smithsonian Libraries. Kendra is graduating this May from the University of Maryland with a Master of Library Science.

This semester I have worked with Bianca Crowley and Trina Brown as an Instructional Design intern, and I’ve been creating videos, writing instructions, and conducting sessions on using Prezi and how to search the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) via advanced search.

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