Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

daughtersofamer00hana_0004-header.jpeg

Meet Author, Suffragist, and Minister Phebe Hanaford

Phebe Ann Coffin Hanaford was a successful author of fourteen books, but she was more than a writer. She was a social reformer who was an outspoken advocate for abolition and women’s suffrage and was also one of the first women ordained by the Universalist church

IMG_2619-2048x1536.jpeg

New Exhibit Uncovers the Raw Materials of Rare Books

Explore the natural elements of centuries-old books with upcoming exhibition and online program

Wild Flowers of North America Cover-Header.jpg

Meet the Wildflower Artist Who Was a Smithsonian Champion

New book and upcoming program highlight work of artist and naturalist Mary Vaux Walcott

IMG_9096.JPG

Tracing Anthropologist Zelia Nuttall Through Smithsonian Collections

A remarkable Mexican American scholar, Zelia Nuttall she helped change the conversation around pre-Columbian cultures. Researchers can trace her work through publications held in the collections of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives and repositories around the Institution.

MO Talk graphic.jpg

Explore Book Collecting With the Curators of 'Magnificent Obsessions: Why We Collect'

Join the curators of our exhibition "Magnificent Obsessions: Why We Collect" for a discussion of the fascinating book collectors that helped build our library collections.

Watercolor slug illustration from

Intriguing Items from the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives’ Adopt-a-Book Program

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives highlights five fascinating collection items and shares how you can support them.

Introductory graphic for “Adopt-a-Book: Preserving Treasures Together” video series. (Smithsonian Libraries and Archives)

New Video Series Highlights Book Conservation Treatments

Take a closer look at the work of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives book conservators through a new video series. While they’ve had to step away from the bench during the pandemic, our Preservation Services staff have been hard at work describing some of their remarkable conservation techniques in video form.

Example of a new meeting background in use, featuring the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. (Smithsonian Libraries and Archives)

Celebrate National Library Week with Virtual Meeting Backgrounds

In honor of National Library Week, the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives have created nine new virtual meeting backgrounds that bring you into our spaces and, in some cases, right into the pages of our books.

Portrait of Graceanna Lewis, The Underground Rail Road (1872). (Smithsonian Libraries and Archives)

Who was Graceanna Lewis, Naturalist and Abolitionist?

One of the first three woman to be accepted into the Academy of Natural Sciences, Graceanna Lewis broke barriers in science, but she was also remembered for playing a key role in the Underground Railroad.

Portrait of Frances E.W. Harper (detail), Frontispiece, Poems, 1900. (Smithsonian Libraries and Archives)

Poetry towards Progress: Frances E. W. Harper

A copy of Poems, Harper’s fourth book, was recently conserved and digitized as part of the Adopt a Book program

Categories
Archive