COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

OCTOBER 2020
THREE MUSEUMS DOCUMENT THE PROTEST AGAINST ONGOING RACISM IN AMERICA

The Anacostia Community Museum (“ACM”) continues its longstanding tradition of documenting local efforts 

to address social and racial injustice by photographing and collecting from recent activist work around these 

issues. Beginning with their “Moments of Resilience” initiative that launched in May 2020, which collects 

stories about how communities are coming together in the midst of a global pandemic, ACM has extended this 

work by photographing rallies happening around the greater Washington, D.C. area. By collecting protest 

signs, art, and other ephemera used and displayed at Lafayette Square (“Black Lives Matter Plaza”), and 

coordinating with organizations across the city and region, ACM documents the civic engagement that 

complements the museum’s advocacy around these issues.

Atiim and Kecia Penn, along with their daughter Kaiia, pose in front of the large Black Lives Matter 

banner affixed to the fence surrounding Lafayette Square (June 10, 2020). Credit: Samir Meghelli, 

ACM Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (“NMAAHC”) has engaged communities across 

the country to collect artifacts to preserve, share, and conduct future research on this moment in history. In 

early June, they collaborated with the Anacostia Community Museum (“ACM”) and the National Museum of 

American History (“NMAH”) to collect objects related to protests at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. The 

range of materials included protest signs, an art installation in front of the Lafayette Square Park fence, and the 

large Black Lives Matter banner that flanked the gate at Lafayette Square. Additionally, Mayor Muriel Bowser 

donated street signs used to rename 16th Street as Black Lives Matter Plaza. The street signs and banner will be 

shared with ACM and NMAH.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Floyd family, donated through the Secretary’s Office George Floyd’s 

memorial service program and obituary. The museum also worked with the Smithsonian’s Office of Public Affairs 

to issue calls for object donations across the country and have narrowed responses to 75 offers that are in 

different phases of consideration. Currently, 15 priority offers have been identified. These offers range from 

mural panels, banners, photographs and photography archives, to clothing, tear gas cannisters, and rubber 

bullets from protests.

Additionally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and St. John’s Church, both at Lafayette Square Park in 

Washington, D.C., have offered banners, protest signs, and murals that surrounded their buildings during the 

June 1, 2020, standoff between demonstrators and law enforcement. The museum cannot take all of the mural 

panels or protest signs offered and plan to work with both institutions to help them identify other possible 

repositories across the country.

Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP, Three Black Lives Matter Plaza street signs 

donated by Mayor Muriel Bowser and the City of Washington, D.C., which 

NMAAHC shares with NMAH and ACM.
The National Museum of American History (“NMAH”) has a broad commitment to documenting, preserving, 

and sharing objects and stories related to the Black Lives Matter movement from 2012 onward in partnership 

with local communities. As part of their curatorial practice they will sharpen their focus on Black life, Black 

activism, Black cultural producers, and Black protest.

 

Tsione Wolde-Michael (NMAH) and Samir Meghelli (AMC) 

collecting in partnership with community groups at 

Lafayette Square.

White House Fence, NMAH collection.
SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES SUPPORTS OTHERS TO TELEWORK VIA BHL

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (“BHL”) Secretariat staff at the 

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives has helped organize and support 

COVID-19 related telework projects for BHL partner staff at 10 

institutions in three countries (US/UK/Australia) since March 2020. 

Secretariat activities include facilitating project work, managing over 

300 user accounts across five consortium-wide systems and seven 

listservs, producing enhanced training and documentation materials, 

and improving reporting processes to help prioritize curation work. 

These telework projects have resulted in improved descriptive 

information (metadata) for BHL collections, including defining 

thousands of additional articles and correspondence, reconciling over 

2,000 creator names with duplicate entries or bad characters, and 

enhancing page-level descriptions for over 2,000 volumes. Through 

the BHL Flickr project, designed to help improve image 

discoverability, the Secretariat has supported 38 staff members at 

eight institutions in their work to upload over 60,000 new images to 

Flickr since March 2020, bringing BHL’s total Flickr collection to over 

220,000 free nature images. The Secretariat has also supported 

several BHL partners in their transition from digitization of physical 

holdings to a focus on uploading existing electronic content to BHL’s 

collection.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is the world’s largest open access 

digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL is 

revolutionizing global research by providing free, worldwide access 

to knowledge about life on Earth. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, 

research, and national libraries working together to address this challenge by digitizing the natural history 

literature held in their collections and making it freely available for open access as part of a global 

“biodiversity community.”

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of 

London. London: Academic Press, 

[etc.],1833-1965. 

biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31207013
A NEW BIOREPOSITORY FOR SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS AT SCBI

The construction of a new biorepository for scientific collections was completed in March 2020 at the 

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (“SCBI”) in Front Royal, VA. The project was partly funded with a 

$1.7 million gift from the Swiss Village Foundation in Rhode Island. The renovated building houses the 

“Dorrance Hamilton Cryo-Conservation Laboratory,” a 2,500 sq. ft. space for processing biomaterials and 

storing up to 1.6 million frozen samples from rare and endangered animal species in ultra-cold freezers and 

liquid nitrogen tanks.

Thousands of samples from current collections that were previously scattered in different laboratories have 

already been transferred to this state-of-the-art biorepository. This includes cells and tissue samples from 

hundreds of animal species as well as a large collection of samples from livestock heritage breeds.

This long-term storage space will contribute to Smithsonian research efforts geared towards the 

understanding and sustaining of biodiversity.
ENHANCING ACCESSIBILITY WITH IMAGE DESCRIPTION

Image descriptions, also known as 

“alt text” are used by individuals 

with disabilities, especially those 

who are blind or have low-vision, 

when navigating websites using 

assistive technology. To ensure 

equitable online experiences as 

we reach one billion people a 

year, all images of objects in the 

Smithsonian collections, events, 

programs, and graphics on the 

Institution’s websites must be 

described. Visual elements on our 

digital platforms provide critical 

information about our content. It 

is essential that the Institution 

approach the practice of creating 

image descriptions thoughtfully 

and with intention.

The image description project initially began in 2018 at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

(“CHSDM”) with funding from the Smithsonian Accessibility Innovation Fund. Staff created a training course 

hosted on Moodle and published Guidelines for Image Description. With the shift to telework in March 2020, 

Cooper Hewitt saw an opportunity to make progress on the thousands of images that needed to be described, 

while keeping frontline staff members engaged during a time where the campus closure meant their day-to-day 

responsibilities were not needed. A cross-departmental team averaging 25 members from Visitor Experience, 

SHOP, Library, Advancement, Curatorial departments and volunteers have authored over 4,500 descriptions. 

This is still just a fraction of the over 210,000 objects in Cooper Hewitt’s collection, but is important progress 

that demonstrates commitment to digital inclusion.

Staff at several other units have begun grassroots efforts on tackling the challenge of creating image descriptions 

including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Air and Space Museum and National 

Museum of Natural History. Members of these units initiated discussions across the Institution about best 

practices for authoring descriptions and are currently exploring the necessary technical factors to tie their work 

to online collections. Staff are also collaborating to experiment with several software tools that support a more 

robust workflow and repository for descriptions including Coyote, and open-source software developed initially 

by the MCA Chicago as a sector-wide solution for addressing image descriptions, and an internal tool created by 

the Office of the Chief Information Officer built from the transcription center model. With the right resourcing 

and proper tools, the aim is to expand efforts of image description work across the Smithsonian.

As a virtual Smithsonian gains even more significance during the pandemic, it is essential that people with

disabilities are considered in the design and delivery of online experiences. Deliberate planning and execution 

are necessary for websites to be born accessible, and the need for inclusivity online will only increase as the 

Smithsonian continues to expand digital offerings. The description project is a prime opportunity for the 

Smithsonian to broaden its reach by welcoming audiences with disabilities, and must be prioritized to ensure 

the institution delivers upon its mission.

Design mockup of an Open Access landing page displays an image of a red 

airplane with a pop-up window providing short and long visual description 

text.
BOOSTING WOMEN’S HISTORY WITHIN

SMITHSONIAN COLLECTIONS, PROGRAMS, AND EDUCATION

The American Women’s History Initiative (“AWHI”) offered two competitive awards to support collections 

acquisitions, programming, and education related to women’s history. The submission deadline for both is 

October 30, 2020. 

The AWHI Virtual Programs and Education Fund, will provide awards of up to $40,000 per proposal for 

programming related to exhibitions, collections, or education. The proposed programs are meant to enhance 

Smithsonian collections or exhibitions dedicated to women’s history. Competitive proposals will show 

innovation and creativity in approaches to reaching new audiences and deepening the work of the Smithsonian 

American Women’s History Initiative particularly in efforts to bring to light previously suppressed histories of 

American women. 

The AWHI Acquisitions Fund will provide awards of up to $100,000 per proposal for new acquisitions related to 

women’s history. These new acquisitions are intended to address gaps in collecting across disciplines. The 

proposals should identify a specific audience to be engaged by the acquisition and show how that audience will 

be connected to Smithsonian collections, scholarship, or exhibitions dedicated to women’s history. Competitive 

proposals will show innovation and creativity in approaches to reaching new audiences and deepening the work 

of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, particularly in efforts to focus on diversifying 

Smithsonian collections.