Nov

Today in Smithsonian History: November 2, 1951

The Library at the east end of Lower Main Hall, now called the Great Hall, of the Smithsonian Institution Building (the "Castle.")

The Library at the east end of Lower Main Hall, now called the Great Hall, of the Smithsonian Institution Building. (Photographer unknown, via Smithsonian Institution Archives)

November 2, 1951 The librarian’s office in the Smithsonian Institution Building (the “Castle”) is merged with all other Smithsonian library functions. The consolidated library, called the Smithsonian Library, is now housed at the National Museum of Natural History.

Today, the network of 20 specialized research libraries that make up the Smithsonian Libraries provides the Institution’s museums and research centers with resources and services that are as diverse and deep as the collections, exhibits and scholarship they support. Collectively, these libraries are among America’s greatest scientific and cultural treasures. They belong to the nation, and through their expanding on-line presence and digitization initiatives more and more people from across the country and around the world are able to access their vast resources.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives