Articles tagged as Libraries | Smithsonian Magazine

Located in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, the former first couple hopes the campus will help revitalize the area

May 5, 2017

Heritage scientist Cecilia Bembibre captures the smell of a 18th-century bible at Knole House.

New Research

The Quest to Better Describe the Scent of Old Books

Describing a unique smell just got easier thanks to a pair of olfactory detectives

April 7, 2017

President Herbert Hoover (center right) plays a rousing game of Hooverball on the South Lawn of the White House.

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Color Movies Show Herbert Hoover’s Softer Side

From Hooverball to White House frolics, you’ve never seen the staid president quite like this

March 23, 2017

The late justice's papers will be housed at Harvard Law.

The Supreme Court justice left behind a substantial legal and archival legacy

March 7, 2017

What did J.P. Morgan's library smell like in 1906?

Cool Finds

Nosy Researchers Are Sniffing a Vintage Library

It’s all an effort to recreate an olfactory landscape of yore

March 6, 2017

Lou Reed graffiti in France is a reminder of the rock star's international infuence.

Trending Today

Lou Reed’s Papers Have Found a Home

The vicious Velvet Underground frontman will live on at the New York Public Library

March 2, 2017

A woodcut from 1482 is yours for the coloring in a book by the Bodleian Library.

Cool Finds

#ColorOurCollections Is Back, Turning Your Favorite Cultural Institutions Into Coloring Books

In its second year, it’s more vibrant than ever

February 8, 2017

Anger is no match for Patience—no matter how large her sword.

Cool Finds

Here’s What Happens in a “Comic Book” Drawn by Medieval Monks

Psychomachia pits vice against virtue in a battle for human souls

January 26, 2017

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michael Basquiat won the 2017 Randolph Caldecott Medal.

Meet the 2017 Newbery, Caldecott and Printz award winners

January 23, 2017

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden with Guest Librarian Daliyah Marie Arana

Daliyah Maria Arana has read more than 1,000 books

January 13, 2017

Now, writers can find inspiration in the historic library of one of America's most famous authors.

Cool Finds

You Can Write Inside Mark Twain’s Library

Commune with Clemens in his historic home

January 13, 2017

An audio tape from the oral history collection at the Navajo Nation Library

Cool Finds

Navajo Nation Library Wants to Digitally Preserve Thousands of Hours of Oral Histories

The library is looking for help protecting its tapes

December 28, 2016

Glad tidings! There's a new Christmas song in town.

Researchers Found a Long-Lost Christmas Song

“Crown Winter With Green” has some serious archival cred—and a sad story to tell

December 15, 2016

A panoramic map of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, MO.

Cool Finds

The Library of Congress Is Putting Its Map Collection on the Map

A new partnership with the Digital Public Library of America will put three major LOC map collections online

December 12, 2016

Today, America's founding documents reside in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives.

Cool Finds

What Happened to America’s Most Precious Documents After Pearl Harbor?

Librarians and archivists made sure the nation’s records didn’t become casualties of World War II

December 6, 2016

Abraham Ortelius created the world's first modern atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or "Theater of the World," in 1570. Shakespeare, who famously wrote that "all the world's a stage," was doubtless influenced by the maps that flourished during his lifetime.

Cool Finds

How Maps Shaped Shakespeare

An exhibition in Boston delves into historical maps to show how the Bard saw the wider world

December 5, 2016

Two supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment demonstrate in August 1980.

Cool Finds

These Photos Bring the Women’s Movement to Life

Catching the Wave dramatizes the large and small moments of second-wave feminism

December 5, 2016

John Lewis has been arrested at least 45 times—and three previously buried records have now been unearthed

Cool Finds

John Lewis’ Arrest Records Are Finally Uncovered

“Good trouble” led to real consequences for the civil rights agitator

December 1, 2016

The Field Museum's famed T-Rex Sue may be long dead, but she still requires a lot of TLC.

Preserve and Protect: How Paleontologists Care for Their Long-Dead, High-Maintenance Stars

Fossil collections are where the science of paleontology truly lives. Valuable dino bones must be treated accordingly

November 14, 2016

A legal rumpus threw the author's epic book collection into question.

A legal rumpus has concluded—but have concerns about the author’s legacy only just begun?

November 8, 2016