documentation of the Institution, and in developing policies 

 for the management of its collections. Additionally, this very 

 busy year saw the initiation of an electronic records project, 

 and the visitation of an Archives Review Committee. 



The crowning achievement of the Archives Division was 

 the completion of a five-year project to enlarge and revise its 

 Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, last published in 1983. The 

 new edition, issued in August, describes roughly twice the 

 number of collections in the 1983 edition. With the assistance 

 of Richard E. Stamm, Keeper of the Castle Collection, the 

 Division mounted a new panel exhibition in December on the 

 transfer of James Smithson's remains from Italy to the Crypt 

 Room of the Castle. Materials from the collections were also 

 used in several exhibitions, including America's Smithsonian 

 and Smithson to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution. 

 Division staff were part of the exhibition committee for Ex- 

 peditions: 150 Years of Smithsonian Research in Latin America at 

 the Inter-American Development Bank, and participated in 

 che Voices of Discovery lecture program. Using Research 

 Resources funds, the Division hired a Preservation Consultant 

 to assist with preservation planning in the next fiscal year. 



The Electronic Records Project included three areas of ac- 

 tivity. A survey of Smithsonian databases began, with par- 

 ticular focus during 1996 on collections information systems 

 and administrative databases. Second, Institutional guidance 

 for the handling of electronic mail was drafted and reviewed 

 by the Electronic Records Advisory Committee. The directive 

 is scheduled for issuance in 1997. Third, planning for an ongo- 

 ing electronic records program continued, with the intention 

 that it will be incorporated into the ongoing activities of the 

 OSIA. 



No part of the Office was more busy during the Sesquicen- 

 tennial year than the Institutional History Division (IHD). 

 Division staff were part of curatorial teams for several exhibi- 

 tions, including Smithson's Gift: The Story of a Bequest. Smithson 

 to Smithsonian: The Birth of an Institution. Eyes on Science: Il- 

 lustrating Natural History, and Expeditions: 150 Years of Smith- 

 sonian Research in Latin America (at the Inter-American 

 Development Bank); and assisted in the development of 

 America's Smithsonian. The Division developed two on-line 

 databases containing a chronology and bibliography on the 

 history of the Institution, and created a third database of im- 

 ages drawn from the Smithsonian's past. The Division also 

 produced a virtual tour of the 1886 U.S. National Museum for 

 the Smithsonian website. IHD staff were involved in organiz- 

 ing part of the "Working at the Smithsonian" section of the 

 1996 Festival of American Folklife, and co-curated the 

 timeline exhibition, 150 Years of Working at the Smithsonian. 



The Division's Joseph Henry Papers Program celebrated 

 the publication of Volume 7 of The Papers of Joseph Henry. 

 documenting Henry's first years as Secretary of the Institution 

 from 1847 through 1849, and mounted an exhibition examin- 

 ing highlights from Henry's tenure as Secretary. 



Division staff participated in several committees and were 

 involved in planning symposia and other programs relaced to 



the Sesquicentennial, particularly the "SI History Lecture 

 Series" sponsored by the 150th Community Committee. IHD 

 staff who presented papers in the series were: Kathleen Dor- 

 man, "Interruptions and Embarrassments: The Smithsonian 

 During the Civil War"; Terrica M. Gibson, "There Are 

 Whole Lots of Things I Know, But I Never Say Anything': 

 African American Employees and the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, 1852-1920"; Pamela M. Henson, "Spencer Baird's Dream: 

 A Great National Museum for America"; Deborah Y. Jeffries, 

 "Mary Henry and Civil War Washington "; Marc Rothenbetg, 

 "Saving the Noble Bequest of Smithson': Joseph Henry's 

 Early Years at the Smithsonian." OSIA Research Collaborator 

 Edward F. Rivinus also delivered a paper in the series, en- 

 titled, "George Brown Goode: A Man of Parts and Architect 

 of the New Smithsonian." 



The National Collections Program marked the Institution's 

 Sesquicentennial with the publication of an expanded version 

 the annual Collection Statistics, which highlighted the 

 Institution's collecting activities from 1987 through 1995. Pro- 

 gram staff completed a survey of electronic collections infor- 

 mation systems across the Institution, and contributed 

 presentations on collections management at a number of 

 professional conferences. The Program reviewed collections 

 management policies for the National Zoological Park, the 

 Horticultural Services Division, and the Hirshhorn Museum 

 and Sculpture Garden. 



Smithsonian Institution Libraries 



Barbara J. Smith. Director 



One of the most visible aspects of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution Libraries' activities in the past year is its presence 

 on the World Wide Web at its own Home Page 

 http://www.sil.si.edu/. All eighteen SIL branch libraries offer 

 their users access to the World Wide Web and, by the end of 

 fiscal year 1996, nine branch libraries had mounted home 

 pages with substantive reference materials in their respective 

 subject specialties and links to external research resources. 

 SIL's first contribution to the Digital Library went live in 

 June, with the electronic edition of a Bureau of American Eth- 

 nology illustrated essay from Bulletin 164. John C. Ewers, 

 "Hair Pipes in Plains Indian Adornment." Other electronic 

 publications on the SIL Home Page are Recommended List of 

 Books ... for Zoo and Aquarium Libraries by Zoo Branch 

 Librarian Kay A. Kenyon, issues of the SIL newsletter, Informa- 

 tion, the User Guide, and several branch user guides. SIL's first 

 online exhibition, Science and the Artist's Book, went live in 

 November. In March the National Museum of American His- 

 tory Branch Home Page was ranked in the top 5% of web 

 sites worldwide by Point Communications Corporation for its 

 bteadth of information and presentation, and the SIL site has 



