Infomation 

For Users and Benefactors of the 

Smithsonian Institution Libraries 

Developing Research Collections 

FALL/ 

WINTER 1993 

No. 75 

p _’ : ‘. 

lannmg for the future whde butldmg on the past, the Libraries is developing its collections in 

Natwe Amencan studtes, one of the Institution’s oldest research interests and the focal point 

lor the planned National Museum of the American Indian. A gift from Ruth Lawson Webb has 

enabled the Libraries to acquire several significant and rare books and maps useful for research 

in anthropology and history of pre-nineteenth-century Native American life. An 1812 book on 

Greenland Inuit cultures with hand-colored plates and a large map contains evidence extremely 

useful for both research and exhibit. since Inuit cultures across North America closely resembled one another in the material traits that appear in the illustrations. Two early maps depict 

respectively eastern North America (by John Saw. 1710) and the locations in 1757 of many 

tribes and Indian settlements within the modem United States. Both maps have tine decorative 

cartouches and William C. Sturtevant. Curator. Anthropology Department, National Museum of 

Natural History, comments that the plates and maps “are remarkable ethnographic and historical 

documents.” Describing another recent 

purchase from the gift, Sturtevant noted, 

“The facsimile of the Codex Veytia includes 

its unique painting depicting the principal 

Aztec deity. It is a remarkably tine facsimile 

of an eighteenth-century version of B lost 

sixteenth-century illustrated Mexican 

manuscript, accompanied by a careful 

modem critical study of the manuscript.” The 

volume joins the Libraries’ nearly complete 

collection of facsimile editions of centralMexican Indian painted books. Mrs. Webb’s 

gift also made possible the purchase of a 

now-rare 1927 book with reproductions of 

thirteen European drawings of Aztecs taken 

to Spain in l529-all done from life. These 

library materials are now being used by 

research staff of the Anthropology Depattment, and will serve as significant scholarly 

resources and exhibition materials for several 

Smithsonian museums. 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Branch Libraries at SERC and 

NZP 3 

S. Dillon Ripley Library 

Endowment 4 

Ripley’s ROth Birthday 

Dinner 5 

Tunnels! Exhihition 9 

Cooper-Hewitt Museum 

Branch Events IO 

Dibner Library Lecture to 

User Advisory Committee I I 

SK’s Best II 

DEPARTMENTS 

LPlwrfrom rhr Director: 

Celebrating the Libraries’ 

2Sth Anniversary 2 

Dfvelopmmr Wnrch 2 

SIL New Digest II 

End Norer: Calendar of 

Exhibitions 12 
Page 2 SMITIISONIBN INSTITliTION LIRRiiRIES Fall/Winter 1993 

SIL 

ENDOWMENTS 

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR 

Celebrating the Libraries’ Twenty-fifth Anniversary 

The Smithsonian Institution 

Libraries established its first two 

endowments this year. The S. 

Dillon Ripley Library 

Endoh ment was established 

with some $300.000 on 

September 20. 1993. to honor 

the former Secretary of the 

Smithsonian Institution who 

founded the Libraries twentyfi\~e 1 ear5 ago. The endou ment 

u;1s established on Mr. Ripley’s 

eightieth birthday with 

contributions from o\ er 250 

well-\\ ishers, and the fund will 

support acquisition of library 

materials in the eighteen-branch 

system. 

A Special Collections 

Endowment was established 

earlier in the year with $343.000 

from the sale of duplicate books 

in the Smithsonian Institution 

Libraries’ natural history 

collections. Proceedc from the 

endowment will be used to 

purchase material\ for the 

Libraries’ Special Collections. 

T he enabling legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution in 1846 authorized funds for “the gradual formation of a library” and the first librarian, Charles Coffin Jewett, was 

appointed in 1847. Joseph Henry, the Smithsonian’s first Secretary, wanted to focus the Institution’s energies on research. and perhaps believed that Jewett’s vision of the library would 

overwhelm the yount u Institution and thwart his goals. Henry fired Jewett, perhaps the best 

known and most respected bibliographer and librarian of his generation, and Jewett went on to a 

distinguished career at the Boston Public Library. Secretary Henry had the library’s copyright 

depository status removed soon thereafter. In 1865 a great fire in the Castle destroyed a number 

of the library’s volumes and this catastrophe prompted Henry’s decision to transfer the entire 

collection to the Library of Congress. The Smithsonian library was not re-established until I88 1 

when Secretary Spencer F. Baird donated his own extensive collection of books and journals to 

the newly established National Museum. For the next eighty-odd years, however. the Smithsonian’s ‘library’ remained an uncoordinated group of collections residing here and there in the 

various museums. 

In August 1968 Secretary Ripley created the Smithsonian Institution Libraries with the goal of 

making “the widest range of library resources continuously and fully responsive to the needs of 

each user.” Since then the library system has grown to eighteen branches which serve the needs 

of users working on the Mall and as far away as Panama. Ripley’s founding memorandum 

reflected his understanding of the implications of the efficiencies computers would bring to 

libraries. The Libraries’ online system has proved invaluable in assuring that the Institution’s 

scarce resources are used judiciously, and library users can locate information about holdings 

anywhere in the system. The Libraries continues to respond to the ever-changing needs of the 

Institution. In the next few years, a rare book library will be added in the National Museum of 

Natural History and a branch library is planned for the future National Museum of the American 

Indian. 

What do we celebrate as the 25th year of the Libraries closes? We celebrate a record of service. 

responsiveness, technologically advanced systems, and impressive development of collections 

to serve the Institution’s basic needs, with particular strengths in the fields of contemporary 

African art, the history of science and technology, natural science, and the history of flight. We 

celebrate a dedicated staff and supportive users. We celebrate a growing number of donors who 

have generously responded to Secretary Ripley’s vision for a distinguished library system. We 

celebrate the establishment of the Libraries’ first two endowments, the S. Dillon Ripley Library 

Endowment honoring its founder, and the Special Collections Endowment ensuring that the 

strong collections in rare and unique materials will continue to grow to benefit research in all 

fields of Institutional interest. We celebrate, under Secretary Adams, the Smithsonian’s renewed 

commitment to the Libraries, its development, maintenance and the preservation of the intellectual heritage represented in its collections. 

Barbara J. Smith 

Development Watch 

T he Atherton Seidell Endowment awarded the Libraries $19,000 to organize, preserve, and 

make available the Mel Heinz Collection of some 60,000 trade catalogs from 2,000 machinetool and metal-working companies. The collection, donated in 1991 by Mrs. Maxine Heinz of 

Berkeley, California, has become a part of the Libraries’ trade literature collection, estimated at 

some 350,000 pieces. The Seidell Endowment is administered by the Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for the Sciences at the Smithsonian. 
Fall/Winter 1993 Information 

Branch Libraries at the 

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 

and National Zoological Park 

Page 3 

T ;.‘. 

he Smith~oman Institution Libraries has eighteen branches, all of which provide library services for the research and program staff 

of the ln~tttutlon as well as for visiting students and scholars and interested members of the public. Two branches, one at the zoo 

and the other at the ecological research center near Chesapeake Bay, serve institutions that study living species. 

Angela Haggins, Librarian of the Smithsonian Environmental 

Research Center 

(SERC) Branch, 

serves more 

than eighty 

Smithsonian 

staff and many 

vntmg scientists at the center 

which was 

founded in 196X 

in Edgewater, 

Maryland, seven 

miles south of 

Annapolis. 

Situated in a 

rural setting on 

the Rhode 

River, surrounded by farms, 

SERC today 

spreads over 

some 2.600 

acres. Local 

trails lead 

visitors on Beaver Pond and Discovety Nature tours, and the 

Java History Trail reveals land-use history from the time of 

Native American habitation to the present. Researchers concentrate on on-site studies of plant and animal life and several 

discipline related to the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay area. 

The first library was established in 1977, and the collections 

today number 3,600 books and 120 current journal titles in the 

fields of ecology, environmental management, eco-systems, 

land use history. evolution, and studies monitoring solar UV 

light. 

Kay Kenyon, Librarian of the National Zoological Park (NZP) 

Branch in 

Wzxhington, 

oversees a 

library of 5,500 

books and 250 

current journal 

titles with 

collections in 

animal husbandry and related 

fields. The 

collections date 

back to 1889, 

the year the zoo 

was founded, 

and today the 

library is used 

by 320 NZP 

staff users and 

n”mer”“S 

visitors. The 

collections are - 

housed in the 

XL/’ Nrroz< h l.iir,n,-icr,l Ku\ Kcrrn~t (Jck,ic, 

branch library 

C&,hr,l , 

located in the zoo’s Education Building, at the Animal Hospital 

and Bird House on the grounds of the zoo. and at the Consewation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia. With its 

special collection of publications from other zoos. the branch 

serves as a major link in the national network of zoo and 

aquarium libraries. Ms. Kenyon chairs the Librainns Special 

Interest Group of the American Association of Zoological Parks 

and Aquariums, and has produced a number of publications and 

directories for the association. 

An online cat&~ of the collections is in SIRIS. the Smithronian Institution Resenrch Informarion Sytem, and the 

hrnnchcs offer database reference smrchiq and interlibrary loan services. The branches are opm except on 

Federal holidays as follows: NZP Branch, Monday Friday, R:OO am 4:30 pm; SERC Branch. Tuesday - Friday, 

8:00 nm - 3:30pm. For an appointment. call NZP Branch ar 202-673-4771; SERC Branch. 301-261-4190. 
Pam 4 SMITHSONIAN lNSTlTl!TlIlN LIRRIRIFZ Fall/Winter 1993 

S. DILLON RIPLEY 

LIBRARY ENDOWMENT 

CONTRIBUTORS 

HONORARY CHAIRMEN 

Anne I.. Amwrong 

Darid Challinor 

Thomas E. Lovejay 

Paul Mellan 

Elliot L. Richardson 

BENEFACTORS 

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritr 

Foundation 

Hitachi. Ltd 

Paul h&l,“” 

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas I. Walson. Jr. 

NATIONAL COMMITTEE 

Anonymous ( 1, 

Sir Valentine Ahdy 

Rob-en McC. Adams 

M,c. Frederic C. Bartletl 

Charles Blilzcr 

Mary Griggs Rurke 

Mrs. Lammot du Pant Cop&and 

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Cullman 3rd 

Frances and David Dihner, The 

Dihner Fund 

Dielle Fleirchmann 

Kathrine Dulin Folgcr 

A,,,, and Gordon Gctty Foundation 

Mr. and Mrs. Alfred C. Glaswll. Jr. 

Larry A. Han 

Mn. Enid A. Haupt 

Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II. the Dme 

Heinz Foundation 

Olga Hirshhom 

Mr. and Mrs. Christian C. 

Hohcnlohe 

Mr. and Mrs. Seymour H. Knox 111 

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Y. larkin 

Mm. Alexander C. Lipgett 

Beaks and Hope B. McCormick 

Fund 

Mill Pond Press. Inc. 

Sally and George Pillsbury 

Mr. Marvin Sadik 

William Kelly Simpson 

Smithsonian Luncheon Group 

The Honorable and Mrs. ROFCI L. 

Stevens 

Mr. and Mrs. Bertrand L. Taylor 111 

S. Dillon Ripley Library Endowment 

T he S. Dillon Ripley Library Endowment was established September 20, 1993. with 

contributions of some $300,000 from more than 250 individuals, foundations and corporations. The endowment honors the Secretary Emeritus (eighth Secretary of the Smithsonian, 

1964-1984) who established the Smithsonian Institution Libraries in August 1968. To celebrate 

its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, the Libraries worked with the Office of Development to 

raise the funds for the Ripley Library Endowment which will support the acquisition of library 

materials. Each book purchased with endowment funds will carry a Ripley Library Endowment 

bookplate. designed by Crimilda Pontes. The establishment of the endowment was announced at 

a gala birthday dinner to honor Mr. Ripley on his eightieth birthday. 

Honorary Chairmen for the Ripley Library Endowment were the Honorable Anne Armstrong, 

David Challinor, Thomas Lovejoy, Paul Mellon, and the Honorable Elliot L. Richardson. A 

National Committee was formed to lead the fund-raising effort. Benefactors include The Morris 

and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. Hitachi Ltd., Paul Mellon, and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. 

Watson, Jr. Special contributions were received from eighteen Donors, and some 300 

supporters contributed to the endowment. 

To complement the establishment of the endowment, the Libraries is honoring Mr. Ripley with 

a commemorative exhibition in the Library Hall. In three cases. the exhibition presents mementoes of Mr. Ripley’s research interests and publications in ornithology, and records of his 

contributions to the Institution in the twenty years he served as Secretary. The exhibition is 

curated by Leslie Overstreet, Reference Librarian, Special Collections, who acknowledges with 

thanks the assistance she received. The photographs, drawings, and documents xe courtesy of 

the SI Archives and additional photographs and the bird specimen are from the research 

laboratory of the Secretary Emeritus. The Ripley Library Endowment exhibition will remain up 

through January 1994. 
Fall/Winter 1993 hformation Page 5 

Ripley s 80th Birthday Dinner 

M. ore than 250 friends and colleagues gathered on the eve of Mr. Ripley’s birthday for a 

dmner held in the S. Dillon Ripley Center following cocktails in the National Museum of 

Alrican Art. Mr. and Mrs. Ripley remained in their Litchtield, Connecticut home, designating 

their three daughters as the family representatives. Julie Dillon Ripley Miller. Rosemary Ripley 

Lanius, and Sylvia Ripley Addison graciously received the crowd of well-wishers, and with 

their husbands and five of their children, represented the immediate family at the c&b&on. 

Secretary Robert McCormick Adams welcomed the endowment supporters. and introduced the 

Honorable Anne Armstrong, who read the Tribute to Mr. Ripley. Dr. Barbara J. Smith, 

Director of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, announced the establishment of the endowment, noting “With the approval of the Board of Regents and the support of the Honorary 

Chairmen, the National Committee and your many friends, the S. Dillon Ripley Library Endowment is established. As of this evening, the endowment holds well over $2SO,OOO.” She 

presented Ripley’s daughter Julie Dillon Ripley Miller with the certificate to give to her father 

to “put among [his1 many mementos” The certificate carries the Smithsonian seal and reads, “S. 

Dillon Ripley Library Endowment, established September 20, 1993, in recognition of his 

contributions to the Smithsonian Institution and its Libraries.” It is signed by William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in his capacity as Chancellor of the Smithsonian 

Institution. Dr. Smith read from a letter sent by Russell Shank, SK’s tint director and the man 

Mr. Ripley chose to launch SIL. Shank wrote that his work with Mr. Ripley was “the highlight 

of my life.” Dr. Smith remarked that, “as we celebrate your birthday, Mr. Ripley, we celebrate 

your vision in establishing the Smithsonian Libraries twenty-five years ago and we continue 

to build on that foundation.” She thanked Mrs. Mary Livingston Ripley for her help in planning 

this special evening. Julie Dillon Ripley Miller, Rosemary Ripley Lanius, and Sylvia Ripley 

Addison accepted the certificate and mementoes on behalf of their parents. 

Birthday toasts to the honored Secretary Emeritus followed, with Thomas J. Watson, Jr. and 

Calvin Cafritz doing the honors. The crowd raised their glasses of champagne with David 

Challinor to wish Mr. Ripley B happy birthday. A musical tribute followed, with Sylvia 

Symington at the piano and James W. Symington singing original lyrics. The program concluded with celebratory remarks by Thomas E. Lovejoy. 

The evening ended with the crowd singing “Happy birthday, dear Dillon,” and five of his 

grandchildren blew out the candles on his birthday cake. The cake was in the form of three 

stacked books, and decorated with the titles of Ripley’s mod distinguished publications. The 

Office of Special Events coordinated the evening with assistance from Office of Development, 

Office of Photography and Printing Services. and Horticulture Services. 
Page 6 Fall/Winter 1993 

DONORS 

Mrs. Patricia Davis Beck 

Mrs. David Bruce 

John Henry Dick 

Mrs. Gaylord Donnelley 

Paul Vickers Gardner 

Katharine Graham, The Washington 

Post Company 

Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert C. Greenway 

Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Hadley Griffin 

Mr. and Mrs. Perley H. Grimes, Jr. 

The Honorable and Mrs. Richard 

Helms 

Aileen and Sac. Hughes 

Suparp Lekagul 

Thomas E. Lovejoy 

Mrs. Jefferson Patterson 

The Honorable and Mrs Charles H 

Percy 

Robert S. Pirie 

Jean Chandler Smith 

Mr. and Mrs. T. Evans Wyckoff 

SUPPORTERS 

Francis G. and Sherrard M. Addison 

Mrr. Sylvia McN. Ripley Addison and 

Mr. Chrismpher Addison 

Richard L. Ahlbom 

Donnu Ramilr<, Ari 

The Honorable Anne L. Armstrong and 

Mr. T”hi” Annnrrong 

Mr. and .Mn. Mnnin Ada? 

Mr. and Mn. Philip H. Babcock 

Mrs Donald F. Rilrrow 

I;rederick M. Bayer 

Amharrador and MR. Ralph E. Becker 

Silvio A. Redini and Gale H. Bedini 

Mrs. Peter Relin 

William “cl,“” 

Mr. and Mrs. Alben J. Beveridge. 111 

The Honorable and MR. Livingrton L. 

BiddIe 

Jc;m I;. Thompson Black 

Ruth E. Blanchard 

Mr. and Mr*. Huntington T. Block 

Lnndy ooggs 

Mr. and Mrs. Jorcph J. Bonripnore 

Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Julio Brnn~er 

Eleanor I.. &i&v 

Mr. and Mri. Howard P. Rrokaw 

Jane K. Rrooks 

The Honnrahlr and Mrs. Philip W. Buchen 

Mn. Poe Burling 

Min liliraheth A. Bun”” 

Mr. Jean Paul Carlhian 

Mr. and Mn. Nuil Carothers. III 

Michael W. Cawdy 

David and Joan Challinor 

The Honorable and Mrs. Rober! Hame 

Charle? 

Paul and Julia Child 

M,\. Blair Childr 
Fall/Winter I993 Information Page 7 

SUPPORTERS 

C"!!,i"UPd 

Wahcr J. C”&l.q 

The Honorahlr and Mrs. Sheldon s. Cohen 

Jame* M. Collins F”“ndati”n 

Mr. and Mrs. Clemen, E. Conger 

Mignon Davis 

Mr. inn.3 Mri J. F&va,d Day 

James T. Dcmetrinn 

Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Dickey. ,r. 

RarOna"d Rar""cs~Ni1~G.W. Djurklou 

J”ylh C. kane. M.D. 

John H. D”hki” 

Mr. and Mn. C. A. Edwards 

Mrs. L. Dorota Eexcopar 

Mr. nnd Mn. Thomas M. Evans 

“““glas E. Evelyn 

Mr. and Mrs. Avery C. Faulkner 

Mr. and Mrs. M. F. Feheley 

Nan M. and Lois km 

Mr. and Mrr. Richard S. Fiske 

Mr. and Mrs. William H. G. FitzGerald 

Thomas A. FnnGoli 

Lcs,ie ilnd Tom Frcudenheim 

Mn. Herben Friedman” 

V.A. Funk and Jwlx~ A. Nix 

Dr. an* Mrs. ,“h” A. Galloway 

Mr. anrl Mrv Arthur w. Gardner 

Mrs. Harvey Cqlord 

Margaret C. Gaynor 

A”hW s. Cirsw 

Richard Evans (iran, and Lucy Lee Grn”, 

Mrs. Gnrdon Gray 

Nxw E. Gwinn and John Y. Cnk 

Amba~sa‘ior and MR. Parker Han 

The Ihnorahlr and Mn. John W. Hechinper 

Mr. and hfr*. ,nme\ M. H”hhi”S 

K”h-2” s. and Sally A. Hofflllann 

Sheldon and Ark”” H”h 

Richard H. Howland 

Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. ““y, 

klncir M. ,,uetxr 

Dr. Alice sa,ne khan 

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Newell Jacotxen 

John F. Jmleson and R. J. Shorh 

J. R”k” Judd 

Viia L. Karklim and leva Louise Karklins 

Mr. and Mn. James P. Keesee. ,r. 

Jamer M. Kernper. Jr., The David W”“& 

Kclnpcr Memorial Foundation 

Mcrya u. King 

L?A:,, M. Magowan 

Rokn Malay 

John and Adrienne Mars 
Page 8 SMlTllSRNliN lNSTlTlAlRN LlRR:~RlES Fall/Winter 1993 
Fall/Winter 1993 Information 

“Tunnels!” Exhibition Links Antiquity with Future 

mhe exhibition “Tunnels!” draws visitors into the Exhibition Gallery through an entrance 

1 inspired by the Hoosac 

Tunnel (built in 1874). The 

show presents highlights 

from the history of tunneling, focusing on the 

technology, social goals, 

and written records from 

antiquity to the present day 

The exhihition, curated by 

Ellen R. Wells of the 

Libraries and Jeffrey Stine 

and Paul Fommn of the 

Museum of American 

History, can be seen in the 

Libraries’ Exhibition 

Gallery in the National 

Museum of American 

History through March 

1994. Its displays of books, 

manuscripts, and objects 

feature classical and 

renaissance studies of tunnels, and note the 150th anniversary of the Thames Tunnel in London 

and the 1X0-year history of planning for the Channel Tunnel linking England and France (now 

expected to “pen in 1994). Scale models and Environmental Impact Statements complement 

the case devoted to construction of the Super Conducting Supercollider. A display of the 

legendary John Henry and a steam drill are attracting crowds. An illustrated brochure with a list 

of further readings is available at the exhibition. 

The Libraries hosted the opening reception on September IO in cooperation with the U. S. National 

Committee on Tunneling Technology of the National Academy of Sciences. Among the 200 

guests who attended were members of the executive committee of the International Tunneline 

Association, in 

town for a meeting, 

and representatives 

of many of the 

twenty-one 

corporations and 

foundations which 

provided financial 

support for the 

exhibition. Members of the Smiths”” Society and the 

Women’s Committee of the SmithsoPage 9 

The Tunnels! 

Exhibition was made 

possible by 

The Robbins Company 

Transmancbe-Link 

and 

American Underground Space 

Associarion 

Guy F. Atkinson Company of 

California 

CH2M Hill 

Dillingham Construction 

Company 

FOSROC, Inc. Celite Tunneling 

Division 

Grow Tunneling Corporation 

GZA GeoEnvironmental. Inc. 

Haley & Aldrich, Inc. 

Ingersoll-Rand Company 

Jenny Engineering Corporation 

Al Mathews Corporation 

Morrison Knudsen Corporation 

Foundation 

Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Inc. 

Parsons De Leuw, Inc./De Leuw 

Cether International, Ltd. 

Shannon & Wilson, Inc. 

J.F. Shea Co. Inc. 

Harry Weese Associates 

Woodward-Clyde Consultants 

With contributions toward the 

brochure from 

Sverdrup Corporation Charitable 

Trust Fund 

Ellen Wells. Special Collections head and co-curator of 

the exhibition “Tunnels!“, 

delivered a Gallery Talk for 

the symposium, “Down 

Under. Tunnels Past, Present, 

and Future” held on October 

23 in the National Museum 

of American History. 
Page 10 Fall/Winter 1993 

FEATURING . . . Cooper-Hewitt Museum Branch Exhibition 

quality of good design. “Walter Crane: Design for Children” which opened November 2 at 

Cooper-Hewitt, National Museum of Design, New York City, examines the themes of fantasy, 

education, ornament, and technique as they relate to Crane’s work from 1865 to 1914. Curated 

hy Stephen Van Dyk, Branch Librarian at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum Library, the exhibition 

features twenty children’s books that best illustrate Crane’s mastery of drawing and his whimsical imngination. Throughout his career Crane served as an advocate for literacy, working with 

educators to create “early” readers. Like his contemporaries in the English Arts and Crafts 

movement, Crane sought to raise the level of taste of the middle class and make good design 

affordable. The exhihition remains on view through May I. 1994. 

[adapted from press release, Cooper-Hewitt. National Museum of Design.] 

Cooper-Hewitt Museum Branch Benejts 

Hewitt Museum Branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. It was the first American 

exhibition of metalwork, ceramics, glass, and other decorative objects designed by one of the 

most influential and progressive British nineteenth-century designers. 

Interior Desirn magazine honored its retiring Publishing Director Lester Dundes with a dinner 

at the Rainhow Room on June 21. More than $39,000 has been raised for The Lester Dundes 

Fund which will support acquisition of design materials for the branch library to maintain its 

research collections in the decorative arts. 

Dibner Library Lecture 

ore than clxty people attended an illustrated public lecture supported by The Dibner Fund on M., “Ammal ’ Encounters of The Emblematic Kind: Rewriting the Book of Nature in the Late Renaissance” on May 

13. William B. Ashworth, Jr., Associate Professor of the 

History of Science at the University of Missouri, Kansas 

City, spoke on natural history and emblematics and how 

visual images of animals in late-sixteenth-century emblem 

books influenced a resurgence of interest in natural history 

during the Renaissance. Professor Ashworth showed the 

audience slides from the Dibner Library collections which 

illustrated his theme. He is author of a number of puhlications in Renaissance and seventeenth-century science on 

such topics as astronomical allegory, patronage and 

science, and natural history illustration and emblematics. 

Topics for his frequent public lectures are early zoological 

museums, moon maps, and botanical emblems, and he is 

consultant for the history of science at the Linda Hall willire,, /l.sln~r~nh..I,_. L)ihwr 

Library of Science and Technology, Kansas City. Lihmv Lxcturer (Rick Var,mr) 
Fall/Winter 1993 hformation Page 11 

SIL News Digest IN BRIEF 

The Libr!ries 

opened its eighteenth 

branch on July 30 at the 

National Postal Museum, 

located in the old City Post 

Office (designed in Beaux Arts 

style by Daniel Burnham in 

191 I) next to Union Station in 

downtown Washington. 

Timothy Can, Branch 

Librarian. will serve the user 

community with a collection 

of 6.SW books and numerous 

catalogs from auctions and 

exhibitions as well as price 

and stamp catalogs, and the 

tiles of associations, services 

and individuals. He is assisted 

by six volunteers who are 

helping with organizing and 

sorting the collection to make 

it more accessible. 

T;a;;:lo;:t:;s;;::; 

hosted a preservation program 

open to SI and SIL staff on 

September I6 which was 

sponsored hy the Preservation 

Working Group of the Federal 

Library and Information Center 

Committee (FLICC). Six 

preservation videos were shown during the course of the day. including “Murder in the Stacks” 

and “Slow Fires: On the Preservation of the Human Record.” Robert Schnare, Director of the 

Naval War College Library, gave a slide presentation on his experience with preservation 

activities in libraries of Kiev and St. Petersburg in Russia, and the Budapest, Hungary, libraries. 

Ann Juneau. Librarian of the National Museum of Natural History Branch, is a member of the 

FLICC Preservation Working Group. 

User Advisory Committee 

I’>./ he User Adwory Commetee met in September to consider the draft report of SK’s 

Flectromc InformatIon Resources Task Force. In the coming year, they will assist in a review 

of space planning and in designing a procedure for an upcoming serials review. New members 

for the Fiscal Year 1994 term we Michelle Smith of the Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education, and Dominick Piano of the National Air and Space Museum. Continuing members 

are Chuck Gallegos, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Bryan Kennedy of the 

Smithsonian Institution Press, Rodris Roth of the National Museum of American History, and 

George Zug of the National Museum of Natural History. 

Smithsonian Year 1992 is 

available online via Smithsonian 

Online, recently launched by 

America Online, a for-profit 

computer network with 250,OCiI 

subscribers nationwide. 

Information about shows in 

SK’s Exhibition Gallery in the 

National Museum of American 

History is noted in the Visitor 

Information Section. 

SmiUmia Miblita 

LibrariPs 

lnlcrrmnrion is published 

scmiannu;dly to inform 

user\ and benefactorc ahout 

Sll.‘s services and 

programs and ahout issues 

affecting the Libraries. 

Nancy L. Matthews. Editor 

Send all correspondence to 

the editor, SIL, al Natural 

History Building 22, MRC 

154. Smithsonian 

Institution, Washington. 

DC 20560. Telephone 

(202) 357-2240. Fax (202) 

7X6-2866. 
Page 12 SMITllSONl,~N INSTITUTMN LIRRIRIRI Fall/Winter 1993 

END NOTES 

Calendar of Exhibitions 

Through March 1994 

Opening Spring 1994 

Through January 1994 

Throufih May I994 

SIL EXHIBITION GALLERY 

National Museum of American History, first floor, west win8 

1000 am 5:30 pm daily (except December 2s) 

Tunnels! 

Ellen B. Wells, Libraries, Jeffrey Stine and Paul Forman, National Museum of American History, C&or.s 

Balloons: The First Decade of Flight, 1783-1793 

Thomas Crouch and Alex Spencer, National Air and Space Museum, Curarors 

SIL LIBRARY HALL 

National Museum of Natural History, first floor, east hall 

Restricted access. Call Director’s Office. 202-3X7-2240 for appointment to view 

S. Dillon Ripley Library Endowment 

Leslie Overstreet, Libraries, Curaror 

COOPER-HEWITT, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DESIGN 

Second Floor, 2 East 92 Street, New York, New York 

For museum hours. call 212-860-6868 

Walter Crane: Design for Children 

Stephen Van Dyk, Libraries, Caroror 

Smithsonian Institution Libraries 

Natural History Building 22, MRC 154 

Washington, D. C. 20560 

Institution 

Permit No. G-94