Institutional History Division
Remote Off-Site Storage Project
Appendixes
A. SIA Organizational Chart for FY 1999
B. Volume of Holdings Summary
C. Chart of Volume Growth
D. Sources of Holdings
E. Records Center Services
F. Reference Service Statistics
G. "Research in Progress" Lecture Series
H. Publications of SIA Staff and Associates
I. Publications Using SIA Holdings
- Use by SIA Staff and Associates
- Use by Smithsonian Staff
- Use by Outside Researchers
- Other Collections Use
For information regarding the total number of researchers, see Appendix F: Reference Service Statistics. The following is a summary of highlights from SIA's many reference and research activities
during the fiscal year.
Use by SIA Staff and Associates
Five SIA Pre-doctoral Fellows conducted research during FY 1999. Briann Greenfield, Brown
University, examined the way New England was represented in the exhibition work of former National
Museum of History and Technology curator, C. Malcolm Watkins; Michele Gates Moresi, George
Washington University, continued research for her dissertation on representations of African-Americans at the Smithsonian, 1895-1976; Michael Robinson, University of Wisconsin, worked on a project
concerning arctic exploration in the American imagination; Kae Takarabe, Nagoya University (Tokyo,
Japan), looked at nineteenth century Japanese interactions with western museums; and Patrick Wirtz, University of
Southern California, continued research for his dissertation on zoological parks as urban landscapes.
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Many Smithsonian offices and staff members used the Archives to answer questions concerning institutional history, policy, and administration. Frequent users included the Office of the Secretary, Office of the Provost, National Museum of the American Indian, National Zoological Park, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Office of the General Counsel, Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, the Center for Museum Studies, Office of International Relations, Office of Membership and Development, Office of Planning, Management and Budget, Office of Product Development and Licensing, Office of Human Resources, Office of Public Affairs, Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation, NMNH Repatriation Office, Office of Sponsored Projects, Visitor Information and Associates Reception Center, and various registrars from around the Institution. Areas of inquiry included Freedom of Information Act and discovery requests from the General Counsel, Smithsonian relations with Luxembourg, the first Smithsonian accession, history of the NMAH photographic history collections, and the architectural history of the NMAH music room and the NMNH rotunda.
Smithsonian staff conducting scholarly research included Krystyn Legg, NMAH Fellow, who worked on
images of Asia and the Pacific in American Art; Sara Butler, NMAA Fellow, studied the Smithsonian
Gallery of Art architectural competition; Judy Chelnick, NMAH Medical History Collections,
researched nineteenth century plaster of paris anatomical models; Nancy Gwinn, SIL, used several
collections during her research on relations between the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress;
Barbara Clark Smith, NMAH Political History Collections, worked on the history of the First Ladies
Collections; David Pantalony, NMAH Fellow, used the Joseph Henry Papers during his research on
Rudolf Koenig and the history of acoustics research; Joanne G. London, Division of Aeronautics, NASM,
continued her work on military museums on the National Mall; Anne Rosselli, NMAH Exhibits
Department, worked on exhibits modernization at the SI; Ellis Yochelson, Department of Paleobiology,
NMNH, continued his biographical study of Charles D. Walcott; Helena Wright, NMAH Graphic Arts
Collections, examined photography exhibits at the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, 1884; Steven Lubar,
NMAH Division of the History of Technology, examined the Jenkins-Armat Radio Controversy; Mary
Panzer, Department of Photographs, NPG, conducted research on the early Washington, D.C.
photographer, Francis Benjamin Johnston; Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Biodiversity Program, NMNH, used
Biological Survey field reports during his study of the mammals of Mexico; Roy Clarke, Department of
Mineral Sciences, conducted research on the meteorite collector, Stewart Perry; Jane Walsh,
Department of Anthropology, NMNH, continued her work in preparation for an exhibition concerning
the Mexico field work of E.W. Nelson and E.A. Goldman; Craig Ludwig, Division of Mammals, NMNH,
worked on the Australian field worker, Charles M. Hoy; and Doug Ubelaker, Department of
Anthropology, NMNH, conducted biographical research on T. Dale Stewart. The IHD image database
was used by a variety of staff including John Dillaber of the Office of Imaging and Photographic
Services to create the videotape presentation on the Smithsonian in the twentieth century for the 1999
Unsung Heroes Award Ceremony.
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Research conducted by public users of the Archives in FY 1999 reflected the wide range of subjects
represented in the holdings. Joshua Levens, Johns Hopkins University, studied Boris Krukoff and his
botanical expeditions to the Amazon; Linda Herron Oakley, an independent researcher from Great
Britain, looked at exhibition design at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum; Julie McCullough, University of
Maryland, did research for her dissertation on the history of the Folklore Society of Greater
Washington; Mark Solovey, Arizona State University, examined records of the Research Group in
Psychology and the Social Sciences; James A. Dolph, Weber State University, conducted biographical
research on William T. Hornaday; John Sonnier, Hillwood Museum, examined records to discover the
original design of gardens at the Hillwood estate; Donald Worster, University of Kansas, visited the
Archives during his research on John Wesley Powell; Amy Mechowski, University College, London,
worked on a biographical study of Natalie Barney; Yoko Genka, George Mason University, looked at the
history of Asian collections at NMNH; Carl Ostrowski, Cameron (OK) University, conducted
biographical research on SI Regent, James Alfred Pearce; Alan Leviton and Michele Aldrich, California
Academy of Sciences, continued their research on the history of the Academy; Sarah Howard, University
of Sydney, examined records of Science Service for her project on the history of sex hormone therapy;
Hyungsook Kim, Ohio State University, did dissertation research on the history of the Hirshhorn Museum
and Sculpture Garden; Dick Russell, an independent researcher, worked on C.M. Scammon and the
Western Union Telegraph Expedition; Alison Griffiths, City University of New York, examined records
concerning early visual technology in museums; Patrick McCray, University of Arizona, conducted
research on the history of the Multiple-Mirror Telescope; Nancy Parezo, University of Arizona, looked
at anthropological exhibits at nineteenth century expositions; Eric Zefren, Wadsworth Atheneum,
examined the Joseph Hirshhorn Papers for correspondence between Hirshhorn and Alexander Calder;
Russell Jones, Case Western University, conducted dissertation research on the history of U.S.
technology museums; Scott Schaut, Mansfield (OH) Museum, worked on Edward Wilkinson, first
director of the museum; Joshua Buhs, University of Pennsylvania, conducted research on the imported
fire ant pesticide campaign; Isadora Helfgott, Harvard University, worked on traveling exhibits and the
popularization of art in the U.S.; Patricia O'Toole, Columbia University, did research on the Roosevelt
African Expedition; and Kenneth Silverman, New York University, examined the Vail Telegraph
Collection during his biographical research on Samuel F.B. Morse. Information was also provided to the
Prince Albert Museum in Monaco, Patrick McCray of the University of Arizona, Prince Georges County
schools, The New York Times Magazine, and National Public Radio. Staff from the Joseph Henry Project
responded to requests mostly from within the United States, but also included Germany, France, the
United Kingdom, and South Africa. Requests were made regarding geology in Alabama, George Catlin,
Henry David Thoreau and his circle of friends, applied acoustics, James Espy and the history of
meteorology, Smithsonian Regent James Pearce, and the Princeton theologian William Henry Green.
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Reference staff assisted researchers with special projects including the development of websites and
virtual exhibits, television programs, magazine articles and other publications, exhibitions, and
architectural renovation projects. Diane Altman of the Office of the Provost used the Archives during
her work on a virtual exhibit based on the America's Smithsonian exhibition. Reference staff assisted the
producers of television programs on John Wesley Powell, the Hope Diamond, Panda Bears, and worked
with a Japanese delegation filming a program on NMNH curator Egbert H. Walker and his work on the
flora of Okinawa. Inci Bowman made extensive use of the Archives while developing a website for the
Division of Fishes, NMNH. Reference staff assisted Smithsonian magazine staff with finding and
reproducing illustrative materials for articles on C.S. Rafinesque and William T. Hornaday. The
architectural firm of Oehrlein & Associates studied records and drawings in preparation for the
renovation of the Arts and Industries Building and Paul Ruther, NMAA Curatorial Department, did
extensive research in SIA for the forthcoming George Catlin exhibition at NMAA. IHD staff provided
tapes from the 20th Century Small Arms Videohistory Collection to Greystone Communications to be
used in a History Channel program, and T. Dale Stewart oral history interview tapes, which were edited
for use in a presentation on Stewart's life at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical
Anthropologists in February.
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Institutional History Division || Joseph Henry Papers Project
National Collection Program