SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ARCHIVES

Smithsonian Institution, P. O. Box 37012, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Anne Van Camp, Director

The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) is the institutional memory of a unique American cultural resource and a steward of the national collections. In order to ensure institutional accountability and enhance public appreciation of a great national treasure, we are committed to serving the Smithsonian community, scholars, and the general public by: appraising, acquiring, and preserving the records of the institution and related documentary materials; offering a range of reference, research, and records services; and creating products and services which promote understanding of the Smithsonian and its history.

INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY DIVISION

The Institutional History Division is dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of the history of the Smithsonian Institution. Division staff conduct research, prepare reports, scholarly and popular publications, website resources, educational and public programs, documentary editions and exhibits, and respond to public and scholarly inquires on the history of the Institution. The Oral History Program supplements existing documentation in the Archives through audio and videotaped interviews with administrative and scholarly staff. The Smithsonian Videohistory Collection documents the history of American science and technology.

Institutional History Division staff serve as advisors to scholars interested in the history of the Smithsonian, legal history of the Smithsonian, American social and cultural history, history of science, history of women in science, history of museums and oral history, and to interns interested in public history and oral history. For information on IHD programs and the history of the Smithsonian, go to http://siarchives.si.edu/history/main.html.

ARCHIVES DIVISION

As the Smithsonian Institution Archives proper, the Archives Division serves several major functions. It is a repository for records and papers of historic value about the Smithsonian and the fields of science, art, history, and the humanities, serving as the official memory of the Smithsonian and as a resource for scholars. The Archives Division also engages in research and training in the administration of archives and manuscript collections.

The Smithsonian Archives was organized in 1967 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the official records of the Smithsonian. The archival collections document the full range of Smithsonian activities, including American history, art history, science and art related exhibitions, astrophysics, botany, ecology, tropical biology and zoology, and though particularly strong in nineteenth-century American science the Division also documents the role the Institution played in twentieth-century astrophysics, biology, museum administration, research, and exhibitions.

The Archives contains a diverse collection of papers, which include Robert Goddard's early work in rocketry and the papers of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, founder of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, as well as all Smithsonian secretaries. Secretarial records and papers include significant collections for Joseph Henry, Spencer F. Baird, Charles D. Walcott, and Alexander Wetmore, representing such scientific fields as physics, meteorology, ornithology, and paleontology.

The Archives has a number of collections that complement the official records of the Smithsonian concerning expeditions, international expositions, scientists, collectors, professional societies, projects and institutions. Additionally it contains a substantial collection of photographs and small collections of architectural drawings, scientific illustrations, moving images, and sound recordings.

The Archives sponsors students interested in gaining experience in archival administration. Staff provides guidance and supervision in the full range of archival practices, including accessioning and appraisal, arrangement and description, preservation, and reference services. The Archives also supports research associates, fellows, and interns interested in scholarly research in its holdings in such areas as the history of science, cultural history, the history of art, and museology.

The Smithsonian Archives is open to all researchers. Descriptions of the Archives holdings are available electronically in SIRIS (Smithsonian Institution Research Information System), which is accessible at www.siris.si.edu. Detailed finding aids to collections can also be found on the Archives’ web site at http://siarchives.si.edu/research/main_collectionaid.html. The staff offers research assistance and refers scholars to relevant sources of information elsewhere in the Smithsonian and Washington, D.C.

TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION

The Technical Services Division (TSD) provides support within the SIA and to research centers, museums, education and outreach programs, and administrative staff of the Smithsonian Institution in the preservation of records in all formats. Its purview includes concerns for the environment and security of archival collections, proper housing and shelving of records, reformatting of selected materials, and training.

TSD provides facilities maintenance support at the various SIA locations, oversight of its underground facility in Boyers, Pennsylvania, and manages the Smithsonian’s nitrate roll and sheet film facility. TSD’s Preservation Team's expertise is available to any Smithsonian archival unit in need of conservation advice or treatment.

Through the Smithsonian Center for Archives Conservation (SCAC), TSD offers a full range of preservation services to the Smithsonian archival community. This includes consultation and training and conducting condition survey assessments. SCAC takes in archival objects for conservation treatment, which includes examination and documentation, exhibit preparation, cleaning, de-acidification, mending, and other stabilization efforts.

The Technical Services Division hosts interns and fellows, works with national and international organizations to advance research in the proper preservation of records in all formats, and conducts workshops and other training opportunities.
TSD staff supervises graduate archival student interns from Seoul National University and provides advice and consultation to scholars interested in Smithsonian archival collections documenting Korean anthropology.

ELECTRONIC RECORDS PROGRAM

The Electronic Records Division addressing the unique challenges of managing, preserving, and conserving the Institution's digital records. From obsolete record formats several decades old to today's complex digital objects and systems, our program includes archiving websites and researching effective archival solutions for email and the other host electronic systems. EREC actively supports the accessioning of, and is responsible for the preservation of, websites, gopher sites, and other digital records of continuing value. The EREC staff help to shape Smithsonian policies and best practices for electronic record management and preservation with guidance in the areas of digital preservation, with special regard to websites and email; digitization; long-term storage; and preservation formats. EREC also assists the Office of the Chief Information Officer in evaluating the record-keeping functionality of key vendor products and systems.

RESEARCH STAFF

ALERS, Ellen, Assistant Archivist. B.A. (1982) St. John's College, Annapolis; M.A. (2006)Johns Hopkins University. Research specialties: Smithsonian history.

BAIN, Alan L., Archivist. B.A. (1967) Colorado State University; M.A. (1971) University of Illinois. Research specialties: History of museum archives; archives administration; Asian and Asian American archival programs; records management.

FERRANTE, Riccardo, Information Technology Archivist & Electronic Records Program Director. B.S. (1987) Northwestern University. Research specialties: Digital Archives; Digital Preservation; Electronic Records Management; Digital Obsolescence; Digital Preservation; Website Preservation; Trustworthy Digital Repositories; Metadata Repositories; Automated Information System Development.

HENSON, Pamela M., Historian. B.A. (1971); M.A. (1975) George Washington University; Ph.D. (1990) University of Maryland. Research specialties: History of the Smithsonian; history of science; history of museums; American Studies; oral history.

LOCKSHIN, Nora, Paper Conservator. M.L.I.S., with Advanced Certificate in Conservation Studies (2002) University of Texas at Austin; B.F.A.(1992) Rhode Island School of Design. Research specialties: Archive and library preservation and conservation, including: books, paper, photographic and recording media.

STAUDERMAN, Sarah, Preservation Manager. B.A. (1986) Amherst College; M.A. and certificate in art conservation (1997) State University College, Buffalo. Research specialties: Non-aqueous deacidificants; magnetic media preservation.

STEED, James A., Associate Archivist. B.A. (1966) Emory University; M.A. (1969) Rice University; J.D. (1984) American University. Research specialties: Eighteenth-century colonial America; Anglo-American relations in the period of the American Revolution; Smithsonian history; preparation of online collection guides and related support materials.

AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF

CHRISTEN, Catherine A., Research Associate. A.B. (1983) Harvard/Radcliffe Colleges; M.A. (1990), Ph.D. (1995) The Johns Hopkins University. Research specialties: Environmental history, especially history of conservation biology, of Smithsonian science (STRI, NZP), and of GIS/remote sensing; Latin American history; oral history.

EWING, Heather Peale, Research Associate. B.A. (1990) Yale University; M.A. (1998) Courtauld Institute of Art, London. Research specialties: Biography of James Smithson; history of the Smithsonian.

GREENWELL, Francis M., Research Collaborator. Course work, St. John's College, U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School, George Mason University. Research specialties: History of taxidermy, techniques and taxidermists.

KEINER, Christine, Research Associate. B.A. (1993) McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College); Ph.D. (2001) Johns Hopkins University. Research specialties: History of ecology and environmental politics; history of American science and technology.

MILLIKAN, Frank R., Research Associate. B.A. (1970) University of North Carolina; M.A. (1980) Appalachian State University; Ph.D. (1990) George Washington University. Research specialties: History of psychiatry; documentary editing.

NELSON, Clifford M., Research Collaborator. B.Sc. (1960) University of Illinois; M.Sc. (1963) Michigan State University; Ph.D. (1974) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: History of the earth sciences; national geological surveys, especially the U.S. Geological Survey and its predecessor agencies since 1867; geology and scientific illustration at the Smithsonian.

PETERS, Tammy L., Supervisory Archivist. B.A. (1990) Bethel College; M.A. (1994) Purdue University. Research specialties: American history in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era; Smithsonian Institution history.

PRUNA GOODGALL, Pedro, Research Associate. M.S. (1967) Moscow State University; Ph.D. (1980) U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences. Research specialties: History of natural history, especially in Cuba; history of biology (systematics and evolution); institutional history of science (Cuba); history of yellow fever.

ROTHENBERG, Marc, Research Associate. B.A. (1970) Villanova University; Ph.D. (1974) Bryn Mawr College. Research specialties: Documentary editing; history of astronomy; American science.

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