Celebrating 40 Years!

Connect

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES Number 3 Fall 2008

Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.

The Ruby Anniversary
2 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.director’s corner.

 is published quarterly to inform users 

and benefactors about services, programs and issues 

affecting the Libraries. To be added to the mailing list, or 

to request this publication in a digital format, please contact:

Smithsonian Institution Libraries Development Office

NHB, 24mz - MRC 154, P.O. Box 37012

Washington DC, 20013-7012 Telephone: 202.633.2875

E-mail: libmail@si.edu Web: http://www.sil.si.edu/

2Director’s Corner 3, 10 Outreach content 5, 8 Directions 6 Collections 11 Giving

No doubt you will 

notice there is a color 

theme to this issue: ruby red, which draws attention to 2008 as the 40th—Ruby—anniversary 

of the Smithsonian Libraries. This issue features 

an assemblage of ruby-colored images from 

our collections. On October 30, our Ruby Gala 

with author David Baldacci will be the capstone 

to the year. Writing this on October 1, the day 

after the close of federal fi scal year, I’m glad to 

say that, thanks to our capable administrative 

staff, we ended in the black, not the red!

In July we welcomed our new Secretary, G. 

Wayne Clough, to the Institution. In his October column in Smithsonian Magazine he 

wrote of his support of libraries, http://www.

smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/atmcastle-200810.html. To those who predicted 

our demise, he responded that we “are quickly 

transforming” ourselves, “from information 

providers to connectors, of people with common interests with each other, and with millions of images of scientifi c specimens, historic 

artifacts, works of art and all kinds of digitized 

documents about them.” The Smithsonian 

Libraries is using this year as a springboard 

to that transformation. With grand environmentally controlled space in a new Smithsonian-leased building in Landover, Md., we have 

the space to move lesser-used collections and 

take the pressure from over-stuffed stacks on 

Red, red, red

Designer/Editor Elizabeth Periale

—continued on page 4

CONNECT

Above: From The 

Cooper-Hewitt 

National Design Library in New York, 

Gazette du bon 

ton: arts, modes 

& frivolités, No. 

6 Année 22, July, 

1922, Planche 47, 

De Paul Poiret, 

“Un manteau pour 

le soir.”

Above, left: From 

The CooperHewitt National 

Design Library in 

New York, John 

Loring, Tiffany flora & fauna, 2003. 

Strawberry clip of 

rubies and diamonds designed 

by Schlumberger 

in 1957.
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.outreach. 113

Best-selling author 

David Baldacci will 

be a featured guest 

at the Smithsonian 

Institution Libraries 40th anniversary 

gala, Paint the Town 

REaD, Thursday, October 30 at the Kogod Courtyard of the 

Donald W. Reynolds 

Center for American Arts and Portraiture. The 

event, which will also feature a ten-piece band 

and a silent auction, will benefi t the purchase 

of materials for the Smithsonian’s art libraries.

Baldacci shocked the publishing world when 

he burst on the literary scene with his incredible fi rst novel, Absolute Power. Since then 

he has written thirteen additional best-selling 

works: Total Control, The Winner, The Simple 

Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man 

Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, The Camel Club, The Collectors, Simple Genius, Stone Cold, and his 

latest blockbuster, The Whole Truth. He has 

also started a novel series for young readers, 

Freddy and the French Fries.

Born in Virginia where he continues to reside, 

Baldacci received his Bachelor of Arts degree 

from Virginia Commonwealth University and law 

degree from the University of Virginia. Before 

going on to be a successful author, Mr. Baldacci practiced law for nine years in Washington, 

D.C., as both a trial and corporate attorney.

Baldacci’s works have been translated into 

more than 40 languages and sold in more than 

80 countries. All of Baldacci’s books have been 

national and international bestsellers, and 

over 50 million copies of his books are in print 

worldwide. Baldacci participates in numerous charitable organizations and is currently 

the U.S. ambassador for the National Multiple 

Sclerosis Society. He also sits on boards at the 

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and 

Virginia Commonwealth University.

For more information about Paint the Town 

REaD, visit: www/paintthetownread.com.

—Catherine Fraser

Internationally-acclaimed 

author David 

Baldacci featured at October Gala

From The Cooper-Hewitt 

National Design 

Library in New 

York, Jutta-Annette Page, The 

art of glass : the 

Toledo Museum 

of Art, , c2006. 

“Goblet.” New 

England Glass 

Company, East 

Cambridge, 

Massachusetts. 

Engraved by 

Heinrich Friedrich Louis Vaupel, 1865-75. 

Colorless glass 

etched, cased 

with gold-ruby 

glass; blown, 

tooled, and engraved. H: 21.1 

cm (8 3/8 in.); 

Diam. (rim) 11.1 

cm (4 3/8 in.)
4 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.director’s corner.

the Washington Mall. Renovations at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the 

National Museum of Natural History are providing opportunities for us to re-organize reading rooms to provide more fl exible spaces for 

researchers to work together as well as study. 

We are digitizing collections and experimenting with new communication tools like Twitter, 

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.

php?id=1502173559&ref=profile#/pages/

Smithsonian-Libraries/14518110807, blogs 

http://smithsonianlibraries.si.edu/, and wikis 

to interact with our users. Secretary Clough 

sees our ability to adapt our methods to our 

historic mission of providing and preserving the 

Institution’s knowledge resources as pluses, 

and so do I.

While we celebrate our past, in our strategic 

planning work this year, we are keeping our 

eyes focused fi rmly ahead to the next, exciting, 

40 years!—Nancy E. Gwinn

p.s. A “Donate” button now appears on our 

website. Go to www.sil.si.edu and try it out!

Director’s Corner—continued from page 2 

Above: From the 

National Museum of Natural 

History Library, 

Diane Morgan, 

Fire and Blood, 

2008.

Left: From the 

National Museum of American 

History Library, 

Bert Kalmar, The 

Kalmar-Ruby 

Song Book, New 

York: Random 

House, 1936.
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.directions. 5

Libraries, museums and archives 

are living in times of 

revolutionary changes, reported James 

Neal, Vice President for Information Services 

and University Librarian at Columbia University, 

and as a result, we are all feeling anxious and 

disrupted. We have to get rid of the idea that 

there’s a best way to order information, challenged David Weinberger, best-selling author 

of Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of 

the New Digital Disorder. Neal and Weinberger 

were speakers in the Libraries’ 40th Anniversary series designed to bring into the Institution new ideas about the future of libraries, 

archives and museums and the new digital 

information environment. Co-sponsored by the 

Offi ce of the Chief Information Offi cer and the 

Smithsonian Institution Archives, the series offers top-notch authors, futurists, and librarians 

to challenge staff to rethink traditional ways of 

communicating with users and visitors.

“Library 2023: a (provoked) discussion on the 

future of libraries and librarians(hip)”—Gregg 

Silvis, Assistant Director for Library Computing 

Systems, University of Delaware Library asked 

a group of 100 staff: suppose it is the year 

2023 and there are 100 million books online? 

What would the library look like? He drew the 

audience into a robust consideration of how 

library services, space, and collections could 

change.

“We Can’t Get There From Here: The Intersection of Research Library Aspirations and 

Copyright Challenges”—James Neal outlined 

elements affecting user expectations, including 

personal computing, digital preservation, open 

source, open content, push technology, and a 

huge shift to mobile technology. He discussed 

his experience with the Library of Congress’s 

Section 108 Study Group, which made recommended exceptions to the copyright law to address how libraries, archives and museums can 

responsibly handle copyrighted materials in a 

digital environment. Three more speakers (see 

right) will conclude the 2008 series.—Marcia 

Adams

The Future of 

Information

Future speakers:

Roy Tennant, 

OCLC Programs 

and Research

“Libraries in 

a Networked 

World”

October 23, 2008

10a.m.-12p.m.

S. Dillon Ripley 

Center, Lecture 

Hall, 1100 Jefferson Drive, S.W., 

Washington, DC 

20024

R. David Lankes, 

Director of the 

Information Institute of Syracuse 

University

“Not Done Yet: 

Charting a new 

Course for Librarianship,”

November 3, 2008

10a.m.-12p.m.

S. Dillon Ripley 

Center, Lecture 

Hall, 1100 Jefferson Drive, S.W., 

Washington, DC 

20024

Clay Shirky, New 

York University, 

Interactive Telecommunications 

Program

“Finding Content 

as a Social Problem,”

November 12, 2008

2p.m.-4p.m.

Location to be determined. Check 

the Libraries’ 

blog for updates; 

http://smithsonianlibraries.

si.edu/
6 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Collections.

Libraries Materials to FedScan

On July 31 the 

Library of Congress picked up 

the first batch 

of 198 Entomology and other 

volumes to be 

scanned at the 

Internet Archive 

FedScan facility.

The scanned 

volumes will be 

accesible through 

the Biodiversity 

Heritage Library 

portal, http://

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/.

As of September 

4, over 1,000 

volumes had 

been sent.

In the Natural History Library, the term 

‘reference librarian’ 

is often a misnomer. 

The scholars usually come in with 

specifi c bibliographic 

information and 

the librarians point 

them to the correct source. In other 

words, the librarians 

do not direct them 

‘from scratch.’

However, the historical value of the 

Natural History collections will place 

unique demands 

on its librarians in 

the future. Because 

the majority of the 

library’s collection 

aids research in taxonomy and systematics, scholars often 

Talking with...

Ann Juneau, 

Natural 

History 

Library The 

increasing availability of digital 

information forces 

self-reflection on 

the part of librarians. What is the 

necessity of a 

medium between 

users and the 

information itself?

Above: Books 

leave the National Museum 

of Natural History for scannning 

at the Library of 

Congress.
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Collections. 7

Above: “From 

the legendary 

ruby and sapphire mines at 

Mogok, the 196 

carat Burma Hixon Ruby,” from 

the National Museum of Natural 

History, Minerals Library, Fred 

Ward, Rubies & 

Sapphires, 1992. 

rely on works that are hundreds of years old to 

accurately classify certain species. Moreover, 

certain copies of works in the library contain 

marginal notes by previous users, which make 

them uniquely valuable to current scholars.

Unlike other disciplines, which can afford to 

digitize only recent publications, natural history 

is still quite reliant on its foundational texts. 

Head librarian Ann Juneau explained that since 

the majority of the scholars who currently use 

the Natural History Library are “aging babyboomers,” they are still accustomed to working from written text. A younger generation 

of scholars, however, will have been exposed 

to an academic climate that encourages online research. It will be the task of the librarians to ensure that this younger generation 

does not neglect the printed texts that form 

the historical foundation of their discipline. In 

other words, one of the chief responsibilities of 

Natural History librarians will be preserving the 

place of the past in future research.—Kannan 

Mahadevan

Left: From the 

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 

Library, Beverly Semmes: la 

flor de paraiso. 

Odense, Denmark: Kunsthallen Brandts 

Klædefabrik, 

2004.

Opposite: Librarian Ann Juneau, 

National Museum of Natural 

History Library.
8 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.directions.

To begin our next 40 

years, with the facilitating help of consultants Lou Wetherbee 

and Susan Loving, 

the Libraries is developing its strategic plan to 

shape our future. The plan will demonstrate 

and foster the Libraries’ leadership role as information broker in an era of rapidly changing 

technology, while aligning with the Smithsonian 

Institution’s mission for the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Two Town Hall staff discussions plus a survey identified concerns and issues. A Libraries Steering Committee focused 

on communication and outreach, customer review, current and emerging research methods, 

and training and staff development. A sizable 

S t r a t e g i c 

Planning

—continued on page 9

Left: From the 

National Museum of American 

History Library, 

Rhys Thomas, 

The Ruby Slippers of Oz, c. 

1989.

Above: From the 

Anacostia Community Museum 

Library, Herb 

Boyd, ed., The 

Harlem Reader: 

A Celebration 

of New York’s 

Most Famous 

Neighborhood, 

from the Renaissance Years to 

the Twenty-first 

Century, c. 2003. 
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.directions. 9

Above: From the 

Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum 

of African Art, 

Directed by David Elliot Cohen, 

Produced by 

Lee Liberman, A 

day in the life of 

Africa / photographed by the 

world’s leading 

photojournalists 

on one day, San 

Francisco: Tides 

Foundation, 

2002.

group of staff used both the web and professional contacts to prepapre an analysis of trends 

in the external environment.

In July, Libraries staff, Advisory Board members and invited guests participated in a two-day 

retreat to identify core strategies and new programs. They brought a strong customer focus to 

discussions about the best communication tools 

and the need to help staff develop appropriate 

skills. It was a forward-looking group, working 

under the principle that 20% of our enterprise 

should be spent on keeping things going and 

80% should be spent on things that move the 

Libraries toward its goals. Retreat participants 

and volunteers are now working to flesh out 

strategies, refine projects, and seek additional 

initiatives.—Marcia Adams & Mary Augusta 

Thomas

Strategic Planning—continued from page 8 

Left: From 

the Hirshhorn 

Museum and 

Sculpture Garden Library, 

Andy Warhol: 

Diamond Dust 

Shoes, Gagosian 

Gallery, 1999.
10 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.outreach.

Above: From the 

Warren M. Robbins Library, 

National Museum of African 

Art, Stanislaw 

Chojnacki, Detail 

from dust cover 

of Ethiopian 

icons: catalogue 

of the collection 

of the Institute 

of Ethiopian 

Studies Addis Ababa University, Milan: 

Skira, Fondazione Carlo Leone 

Montandon, 

2000.

Left: From the 

National Museum of American 

History Library 

trade literature 

collection, ‘68 

Cutlass catalog.

Three new exhibitions featuring Libraries collections are 

opening this year.

Stephen Van Dyk, Librarian at the CooperHewitt National Design Museum in New York, 

curated Wall Stories: Children’s Wallpaper and 

Books, which opened on October 3. On display 

are 30 wallcoverings dating back to the 1870s 

and the books that inspired them. Think Pilgrim’s Progress, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, 

Alice in Wonderland and children’s nursery 

rhymes. It’s also an exploration of children’s 

literature.

Picturing Words: The Power of Book Illustration opens November 21 in the Libraries Gallery on the fi rst fl oor of the National Museum 

of American History as part of the re-opening of the renovated museum. Displaying 40 

volumes from the Libraries’ extensive rare 

books collection, the exhibit explores the function, power and beauty of book illustration 

throughout history, as well as highlighting the 

history of illustration technology. Guest curators Helena Wright and Joan Boudreau of the 

Graphic Arts Division of the National Museum 

of American History have brought considerable 

expertise to the presentation.

The Art of African Exploration opens December 9 in two magnifi cent, new, custom-built 

exhibition cases in the Constitution Avenue 

lobby of the National Museum of Natural History, featuring visual materials from the Russell 

E. Train Africana Collection, including printed 

illustrations, portraits, illustrated books, and 

original art. Libraries’ staff Kirsten van der 

Veen and Daria Wingreen-Mason served as 

curators and selected such items as original 

pen and ink drawings by the famous explorer 

Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), which he 

used in Zanzibar: City, Island, Coast, 1872, 

also on display.

New Libraries 

Exhibitions
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Giving. 11

This issue features images 

from Libraries 

collections with 

a “ruby” theme.

Cover: Rosser 

Reeves Star 

Ruby, photograph by Chip 

Clark.

Back Cover: Carmen Lucia Ruby, 

photograph by 

Chip Clark.

From the Smithsonian American 

Art Museum / 

National Portrait 

Gallery Library, 

Howard Pyle, 

The Ruby of 

Kishmoor, 1908.

When George Zug, 

Smithsonian Emeritus 

Research Zoologist, 

fi rst arrived at the 

National Museum of 

Natural History, most 

of the library materials in the division of 

amphibians and reptiles originated from the personal collections of the scientists and researchers and subsequent donations of books and periodicals by SI curators. Eventually, Jim Peters, 

head curator of the division from 1964-1972, 

created SHIS or the Smithsonian Herpetological Information Series. After Peters’s death, Zug 

continued publishing the series and established 

an exchange program with other herpetological 

organizations for their periodicals. The exchange 

provided scientists and researchers with many 

serials, especially herpetocultural publications 

that were largely inaccessible in academic libraries. Zug says the exchange has enabled the division to keep up with current literature.

“Over my career at the Smithsonian,” he said, 

“and especially during the past decade and a 

half, many new herpetological periodicals have 

appeared but the infl ationary shrinkage of the Libraries’ budget has prevented us from subscribing to these and most have not been available 

for exchange.”

However, Zug has now ensured that future scientists will not have the same problem. Ten years 

ago, the Zug family (wife Pat and children Jon and 

Erin) established a limited liability corporation for 

their philanthropic and fi nancial goals. Recently, 

the family decided to dissolve the LLC and donated the proceeds to the Libraries to establish the 

Zug Family Amphibian and Reptile Endowment 

for the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.

Director Nancy E. Gwinn was thrilled to receive 

the donation. “When an active library user—and 

one of our leading scientists—gives back in this 

way, it is very special,” she noted. “An endowment will keep on giving to support the work of 

future colleagues.—Catherine Fraser

Smithsonian Scientist 

Gives Back to 

the Libraries
Happy Anniversary

Smithsonian Institution Libraries

well-wishes from the Libraries 40th Birthday bash:

Presorted 

Standard

U.S. Postage

And Fees

PAID

Washington, DC

Permit No. G94

SmithsonianInstitutionLibrariesPOBox37012MRC15410thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNWWashington DC20013-7012OfficialBusinessPenaltyforPrivateUse$300

The Libraries 

40th 

Anniversary 

Gala

Featured Guest

David Baldacc

Paint the Town 

REaD

October 30, 

2008

The Kogod 

Courtyard of 

the Donald W. 

Reynolds Center 

for American Art 

and Portraiture