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Category: Digitization

Spotlight on Open Access at the Smithsonian Libraries

Richard Naples
January 30, 2013
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Founder James Smithson
Founder James Smithson

James Smithson bequeathed his fortune to the people of the United States with the clear impetus for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The Smithsonian Libraries takes that message to heart by striving to connect ideas and information to you, and all whom we serve. Consider this an overview of Open Access (with capital O and A) and open access (lowercase o & a) here at the Libraries. Long story short: if you have access to the internet, you have access to an increasing number of quality, peer-reviewed journals and scholarly publications (as long as you know where to look).

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Building a Digital Bridge: Connecting Museum and Library Content

Jen Cohlman Bracchi
January 23, 2013
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cover of book, Timeless Sources: Rare books at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum
Timeless Sources: Rare Books at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum

The invisible boundary between the cataloging systems of museums and libraries has traditionally presented challenges to the integration of intrinsically-connected content. The achievements of Europeana and Australia’s Trove systems demonstrate the power of combining museum and library catalogs on a large scale. Cooper-Hewitt’s recent Historical Publications initiative combines the resources of the Museum and Library, focusing on past museum publications and successfully bridging two divergent collection systems.

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Highlights from the Cultural Heritage Library: Vintage Knitting Patterns

Erin Thomas
January 14, 2013
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Illustration of an old woman and a little girl knitting, from the Art of Knitting
Illustration from The Art of Knitting

In 1892, for 50 cents or 2 shillings, you could have purchased this month’s Cultural Heritage Library selection and wowed all your friends with the latest and most comprehensive guide to knitting on the market to date. The Art of Knitting (1892) was published as a companion to The Art of Crocheting and contains simple instructions for beginners as well as more complex fancy stitches and patterns for more seasoned craftsmen. As it stands, however, we are well into the Electronic Age and you can impress your friends and save your cash by downloading this title for free from the Internet Archive!

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Rare Books and Journals on Aviation Now Digitized

Chris Cottrill
January 2, 2013
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Rare Books and Journals on Aviation Now Digitized
Fantastic Plan Presented by Citizen Monge, of England, in 1798
1798 plan for an airship, featured in 1910 issue of Aircraft

In the early 20th century, few things excited the public more than the development of mechanized flying machines.  Whether aircraft or dirigible, these machines were documented in the specialized and popular literature of the day.  The Smithsonian Libraries is committed to digitizing its special collection of rare books and journals on the invention and growth of aviation. Many of the tiles we’ve scanned and digitized to date are accessible through the Internet Archive.

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Search “Reindeer” on BHL!

Tina Morrison
December 21, 2012
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Reindeer in the SnowThe Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), a consortium of institutions working to digitize biodiversity literature and make it freely available online at www.biodiversitylibrary.org, is helping scientists identify and conserve life on Earth. Scientists have long considered that inadequate access to the published literature is one of the chief impediments to the efficiency of research in the field. By removing boundaries to access, BHL is strengthening scientific and conservation efforts on every continent. The BHL currently provides access to nearly 40 million pages and over 50,000 images, free and available to the public online.

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CHL Collections Highlight: Japanese Woodblock Prints

Erin Thomas
December 7, 2012
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Roughly half of the Cultural Heritage Library (CHL), available online here, includes titles from the Smithsonian’s Art Libraries. While copyright restrictions prohibit much coverage of more contemporary titles, the CHL addresses a broad swath of art history’s major movements and themes, including wildly popular and renowned movements like Cubism and Impressionism. Sometimes we isolate historical events; we forget that preceding events and influences play major roles in what comes next. This seems to be especially easy when it comes to art history’s tendency to declare masterpieces and the genius of the artisté. This month we take a look at part of what made Van Gogh and Monet so relevant for their time and enduring into ours: ukiyo-e, the “floating world” of Japanese woodblock prints.

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