Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection Archive
Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum
National Air and Space Archives
National Anthropological Archives
National Museum of the American Indian Archives
Peale Family Papers, National Portrait Gallery
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Smithsonian American Art Museum Slide and Photo Archives
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Photographic Services
Affiliated Organization: National Gallery of Art
The Megatherium Club, a group of young naturalists who often collected
for the Smithsonian during the mid-nineteenth century. Standing left,
Robert Kennicott; standing right, Henry Ulke; seated left, William Stimpson;seated
right, Henry Bryant, circa 1850s.
Archives
Division
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Capital Gallery Building
Suite 3000
600 Maryland Ave, SW
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 507
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202.633.5870
202.633-5927 fax
osiaref@si.edu
siarchives.si.edu
Hours
Monday – Friday
9am to 5pm
Appointment
Recommended
Archives Division
The Archives
Division collects, preserves, and makes available the official records
of the Smithsonian Institution, the papers of Smithsonian scholars and
other staff members, and the records of related professional organizations.
The Division provides reference services to the general public and to
staff of the Smithsonian Institution. It carries out a program of records
management for Smithsonian offices, advising them on the disposition of
records and pertinent documentary materials, and operates a records center
for the storage of temporary records.
Highlights: The Archives maintains over 25,000 cubic feet of holdings,
which include institutional records, personal papers, and special collections.
Official records provide a comprehensive history of the development and
activities of the Smithsonian; its role in 19th century American science,
especially natural history; Smithsonian involvement with cultural and
social issues; and the development of museums as cultural institutions.
Holdings include the records of the following current and former Smithsonian
museums and bureaus: Anacostia Museum, Archives of American Art, Cooper-Hewitt/
National Design Museum, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National
Air and Space Museum, National Museum of African Art, National Museum
of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait
Gallery, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center,
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute, and the United States National Museum.
A broad range of Smithsonian special programs and projects are also documented
in the collections including the Smithsonian Institution-Peace Corps Environmental
Program, the International and Environmental Programs, the Office of Program
Support (documenting international exhibitions including the Sao Paulo
and Venice Biennials), the International Exchange Service, and the International
Whaling Conference and International Whaling Commission.
In addition, the Archives maintains the personal papers of Smithsonian
scientists and historians; papers of scholars and researchers affiliated
with the Institution; and records of professional organizations. Highlights
include the papers of past Smithsonian secretaries, such as Joseph Henry,
Spencer F. Baird, and Charles D. Walcott; the papers of Riccardo Giacconi,
Farouk El-Baz, William H. Dall, George Brown Goode, Joseph H. Hirshhorn,
Fielding B. Meek, and Fred L. Whipple; special collections such as the
Harriman Alaska Expedition Collection, field reports of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and the Vail Telegraph Collection; and the records
of the American Association of Museums, the American Ornithologists Union,
the History of Science Society, the Museum Computer Network, the National
Institute, the Society of Systematic Zoology, the Society of American
Mammalogists, the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, and the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Automated indices and collection-level descriptions are available to more
than 1,100 collections in the Archives to assist in reference and information
retrieval. SIA uses SIRIS (www.siris.si.edu)
to report collections that are available for research. SIA also
maintains a website that includes finding aids to collections, virtual
exhibitions, records guidance, and details regarding location, access
and use.
Institutional History Division
Capital
Gallery Building
Suite 3000
600 Maryland Ave, SW
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 507
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202.633.5910
202.633-5927 fax
hensonp@si.edu
siarchives.si.edu/sia/ihd.html
Hours
Monday - Friday
9am to 5pm
Appointment Required
Metro Stop: L'Enfant Plaza
Highlights: The IHD maintains and prepares finding aids to the Smithsonian Institution Oral History Collection and Videohistory Collection. The IHD maintains several databases on the history of the Smithsonian, including an annotated bibliography on the history of the Smithsonian, an annotated bibliography of legal documents relating to the Smithsonian, a chronology of major events in the history of the Smithsonian, and a database providing access to images documenting the history of the Smithsonian. These databases are available through SIRIS. The IHD also maintains special finding aids on such varied topics as the history of employees at the Smithsonian, especially African-Americans and women, Latin American natural history, oceanography, systematics and a database on the Board of Regents. The IHD provides research assistance to scholars and Smithsonian officials conducting research on the history of the Smithsonian and provides advice on oral history and videohistory methods.
The Joseph Henry Papers Project, a unit within the Institutional History Division, was established in 1967 to gather, edit, analyze, and publish the manuscripts of Joseph Henry (1797-1878), a pioneer American physicist and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, in eleven letterpress volumes. It also provides reference services to the public and to Smithsonian staff members concerning the life of Henry, the early history of the Smithsonian, and the development of American science during the mid-nineteenth century. JHPP holdings include copies of approximately ninety thousand manuscripts from over three hundred depositories. Information regarding these manuscripts has been entered into a database at the JHPP. In addition, the JHPP curates the Bell-Henry Library, which contains the scientific library of Alexander Graham Bell and the personal library of Henry.
The JHPP website can be viewed at http://siarchives.si.edu/history/jhp/jhenry.html