National Sporting Library & Museum

The National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, VA is seeking applications for the John H. Daniels Fellowship. The fellowship supports researchers-in-residence to study and use the collections for research into "a topic exploring the intersection of field sports with the evolution of conservation." Check out the Fellowship brochure for more information. The application deadline is March 1, 2013.

The National Sporting Library & Museum was founded in 1954 and the collections contain over 24,000 works of art and books on field and equestrian sports. The collection boasts items dating back to the 15th century. "The National Sporting Library and Museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the literature, art and culture of equestrian, angling and field sports." There is an online catalog although it appears you'll need a log in to access it. You can contact the library to find out about access. The manuscript and archive collections contain scrapbooks, papers, photographs and research. Finding aids are available online. The library and museum are both open to the public and free of admission. If unable to visit in person, reference services are available. However, research is limited to 30 minutes per request. If you are curious about the library and collections, read the resource brochures available on the website, or like them on Facebook and check out some of the photos.

San Diego Zoo Library

Zoos have libraries. Go figure. I discovered this bit of information recently when I saw a job posting for an Associate Director of Library Services at the San Diego Zoo Global Library. The position closed to applications on October 11th, however here is the link to the job posting for anyone interested, and this is a link to a .pdf I've uploaded to Google Docs for posterity. The existence of libraries in zoos had never occurred to me. Then I realized, of course zoos have libraries. Zoos need access to veterinary collections for animal care, biological research, zoo history, current practice in animal care, to name a few needs.

I spent some time on the San Diego Zoo's library website and was impressed with the resources available. Check out these Fact Sheets. They are HTML pages that cover a breadth of topics. I dig the hippopotamus photo.


The zoo library has over 11,000 books and 400+ journal titles. There are archives and rare books, as well as general reference services and information. It looks like a great library resource. I borrowed some photos from the website to give you a look. Click the photos to visit the library home page.

Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia

A few weeks ago I spent a weekend in Philadelphia with my husband. It was my first time in the city and we did the usual visit to the birthplace of democracy; Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross's house, Ben Franklin's print shop and post office, and Elfreth's Alley. We barely scratched the surface of things to do, but only had one day in the city. We decided to spend the afternoon visiting the Mütter Museum.

The museum is amazing. It definitely has disturbing elements. For me, the wall of fetal deformities was a little difficult to take in. There were exhibits linking Grimm's Fairy tales to medical conditions, and I learned more than I ever intended about skin conditions and the assassinations of Lincoln and Garfield. Check out this article from the British Society for the History of Science Travel Guide for more information about the museum. There was a wonderful quote on a display description that sums up the importance of the collection well.

"A great museum collection is as important to medical education as a great library because specimens are nature's books"

While at the Mütter I learned about the Historical Medical Library also housed in the building. Established in 1788, it's one of the world's premier research collections into the history of medicine. Over 400 incunables, manuscripts, archives, and 19th and 20th century medical journals. Sadly, I did not have an appointment, so I could not visit the stacks. The library is open by appointment only Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10:00am to 4:00pm.

If you want to see specifics, you can search the catalog online. The Catalog search help is fairly comprehensive if you would like a tutorial in how to use their catalog system.

Also available for distance visitors are the digital resources, Digital Books and two digitized 18th Century Manuscripts.

See the library website for history of the collection, or read this very informative article from the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, which is part of the Literary and Cultural Heritage Map. Photos are not allowed within the museum so these shots of the door and the one taken from the library website above will have to satisfy your visual cravings.

Books that Shaped America

This week I'd like to bring the focus back to the Library of Congress to take a look at the Books that Shaped America exhibit on display now through September 29th. The exhibit is part of the multi-year Celebration of the Book. I visited a few weeks ago and very much enjoyed the experience. The exhibit is located in the Southwest Exhibition Hall in the Jefferson Building on Capitol Hill, just outside the Thomas Jefferson Library Exhibition.

The Jefferson Building is open on Saturdays and there was quite a crowd when I was there. It was nice to hear the common exclamation, "I love that book" and to overhear stories of how a particular title was personally influential, or brought up fond memories spent reading. I saw many books that have mattered to me over the years, and each selection was thought provoking in how its existence and influence helped shape America.

If you are able to visit before the end of the month, I highly recommend it. I also want to plug the National Book Festival, taking place on the National Mall September 22-23. I am glad to be able to check it out this year. If it's a bit far for a visit, check out the list of books online to find your favorites. These are a few of mine.

Wine Library of Sonoma County

The Sonoma County Wine Library has been curating an extensive collection of wine information since its inception within the Healdsburg Regional Library in 1988. Founded by Millie Howie, the special collection contains about 5,000 books on the subject of wine as well as access to over 80 wine journal titles. According to the library website, The Sonoma County Wine Library has four stated collecting areas:

• The science and technology of growing grapes and making wine
• The business and economics of the wine industry
• The history of wine worldwide
• The history of wine in Sonoma County

The library collection includes historical wine labels and oral histories of the wine industry by the library and other sources. Check out this bibliography of Oak in Winemaking. I found some pictures of the library collection on the blog, Along the Wine Road. Check out this post for more pictures of the library see the full post here:
A Wine Library? What!? Sign Me Up!


The library is supported by the active Wine Library Associates of Sonoma County. An article written in Metroactive in 2003 details some of the rare books in the collection. For those not able to visit the library in person, some of the collection resources are publicly available online. Check out the Online Historical Image collection. Also check out Wine Files, a database of wine information supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Millie Howie passed away in 2011 and the library is honoring her with a project to create the Millie Howie Courtyard. This special collection exists through support of the community it serves and is a great example of special collections developed and perpetuated through associations and involved organizations to serve a broad community of users. Wine lovers visiting the Sonoma region should definitely add a visit here to their list.

Manuscript Room of the Library of Congress

A few months ago I found myself with a reason to visit the Manuscript Reading Room in the James Madison Memorial Building. I needed to look for the transcript of a conversation by Carnegie's biographer supposedly located in the Andrew Carnegie papers. A doctoral candidate from UW iSchool in Seattle needed the document for her dissertation research, and I volunteered to find it because I had the time and live in the area. It was also a perfect opportunity to get over my nervousness about using the library for research for the first time. I was looking up a document that cited the Andrew Carnegie papers, box 256. The online finding aid is very well organized, easy to use and in looking up box 256 I found that some of the general content was also stored in Box 257. I would ask for both boxes and see what I could find. I checked the hours for the Manuscript reading room and called ahead to make sure the papers were accessible onsite. Many items are stored off-site and require advance notice so it helps to call ahead and check.


Armed with the box numbers I passed through security at the building entrance and found the manuscript reading room on the first floor. I also stopped to admire the stature of Madison when I took a wrong turn down a hallway.


I had already visited LM140 for my reader registration card in the same building. I walked up to the security desk and presented my card to security. I let him know I had never been to that reading room before and he gave me a key for the lockers and pointed me towards the information desk. I'd already reviewed the restrictions for personal belongings, as well as the research and reference FAQs. I also attended a research orientation class. Some of the reading rooms offer specific orientations for their subject area, which may be useful although I have not taken one yet. The general orientation class provides basic instruction on library use and could be helpful for new researchers, but is a little light for anyone familiar with library services and use.

After stowing my things in a locker at the front of the room, I approached the desk where I was checked in and registered as a user of the manuscript reading room. I gave her my two box numbers, and she thanked me for being prepared. If you need to look up the boxes you need, or want help researching the collection, there are computers available in the room, as well as staff on hand to assist you.

By the time I'd sat down at one of the lovely wooden desks, much of my apprehension had dissipated and I was a little giddy with excitement. Silly, yes, but I found the experience a little surreal at how very easy it is to walk in, ask for something, and have it brought to you on a cart. Within minutes I was sifting through the archival boxes reading bibliographies of articles and books that mention Carnegie, as well as several typed notes of references to Carnegie in articles, or interviews with people about him. I also found what I was looking for, a transcript of the conversation between Burton J. Hendrick and James Bertram my doctoral candidate friend had found mentioned in another source. I scanned it using this amazing machine, you can check it out here on Google Docs


If you're interested in learning more about collections and conducting research at LOC, the website is the best place to start. Many library resources are available digitally to browse or access, such as a Virtual Reference Shelf, Webcasts, Digital Collections, Bibliographies, Online Catalog, and Finding Aids. The rooms themselves are beautiful and the collections are amazing. Check them out if you ever have time, and unearth some neat things.

American Museum of Natural History Library

This week's post is about a library visit by the Library & Information Science Student Association. A former officer and recent graduate of the School of Communication & Information at Rutgers directed me to their pictures and provided some details about their visit to the American Museum of Natural History Library in New York, NY.

The library at the American Museum of Natural History was established with the founding of the museum in 1869. This library is one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Among the collections, the library also maintains the astronomy collection from the Hayden Planetarium, which was transferred in 1997.

The website is worth a perusal if you don't have the opportunity to check this library out in person. The Congo Expedition of 1909-1015 is very well done with multimedia t presentations, impressive gallery with QuickTime videos and images of 3D visuals and high resolution display, and well presented access to the transcripts of the introduction. The Darwin Manuscript Project with a cleverly called Darbase is also worth a look. Check this this link for the list of digital collections. To whet you appetite for an in person visit, browse their catalog online.

The Flickr page from the Rutgers LISSA visit give some great perspective of the behind the scenes. These images were clipped from the Flickr page and link to the original Flickr files.

Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the ultimate special library. Taken as a whole it's in a class akin to national libraries around the globe. The library is comprised of many buildings, divisions, and collections. It's too difficult to cover the library in one post. This is the first in a series of posts about the special collections and reading rooms found within the Library of Congress (LOC). The LOC has hosted a series of webinars through Fedlink about Area Studies. I attended a recent one titled "Research Treasure Troves of the Serial & Government Publications Division: Collections and Services" (Link to Webinar) which was hosted by the Serial and Government Publication Division of LOC. The webinar was entirely fascinating, however what impressed me most was the revelation that Library of Congress preserves an impressive collection of Comic Books.

The Library of Congress has many reading rooms for researchers to access the plethora of materials in the collections. The Newspaper and Current Periodicals Reading Room is inside the Madison building, one of three LOC buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.



I have not yet found the time to visit this reading room, but hope to eventually. For those not able to make a trip in person, some resources are available online through the division's work with national programs such as the National Digital Newspaper Program, some webcasts about the collection, search tools, and a bibliography of Internet resources outside of the Library of Congress. The bulk of the collection is only available inside the reading room, however some duplication services may be available for off site patrons, for a fee.

The Comic Book Collection at LOC is probably one of the largest in the United States. Full access to the fragile materials is limited to serious researchers, but there are an extensive number of titles available in the Comic Book Fiche collection which can be photocopied following the general photocopy guidelines. For some instant gratification, and fun times also check out the digitization project at University of Nebraska - Lincoln Libraries, Government Comics Collection. These two covers, taken as screenshots from the digital copy online link to the full online version. These are just two of the many gems worth browsing through in the University of Nebraska Libraries digital collections.

US Census Library

I recently had the opportunity to visit the United States Census Library in Suitland, MD. The library moved into the renovated building in 2006. It is a very bright and airy space, and features an impressive piece of art by Sam Gilliam.

The Census library does not have a public web presence due to security restrictions, although, the library space and collections are open to the public for research. Contact library@census.gov for more information.

The collections are best described by a portion of the mission of the Census Bureau Library, which "is to furnish relevant and timely information services and collections needed for informed decision-making by Census Bureau and government employees on-site and electronically, as well as to the public via electronic reference and inter-library loan services. The Census Bureau Library is the leading source for information resources produced by the Census Bureau and information about those resources."

The core of the collection are Census publications. Population Census records are stored and accessed at the National Archives. The Census Bureau gathers all kinds of information, beyond the familiar decennial population census. There are US Export records, a collection of articles and papers written by Census Bureau employees which began in the 90's, Business Statistics, Agricultural reports, etc. These publications are collected and preserved by Census library staff. The library collection also contains some rare historical statistic information, such as reports from the first Census in 1790.

The Census Bureau has discontinued the Statistical Abstracts of the United States, however ProQuest announced in March they will be picking up where the Census Bureau leaves off. The Census Library also recently took charge of an extensive collection of international statistical information. The collection developed through a reciprocal exchange program other countries. The library staff are hard at work processing and cataloging the vast collection. While the Census library does not have a public web presence or public web access to their catalog, their records are uploaded to World Cat and they do share some resources through Inter-Library Loan.









The library is a wonderful resource for research into historical statistical information. The future direction of the library is a focus on electronic acquisitions and reference services, as well as continuing to maintain the collection of Census publications. Interns and volunteers are accepted, although due to the level of security at the Bureau of the Census, security background checks are required. Students in an ALA accredited program are preferred. And of course, no library can be complete without the Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure.

Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room

Many public libraries contain special collections, which are specifically curated subject or format collections that are generally, but not necessarily locally focused. Several special collections have developed over time at the Seattle Public Library (SPL). twenty-seven branches and mobile services create the SPL system. The Seattle Room at SPL contains the Seattle collection:

"The Seattle Collection contains items about Seattle's history and includes published materials, Seattle city documents, newspaper clippings, maps and atlases, high school yearbooks, oral histories and more than 30,000 photographs, including photos of historic Seattle, Native Americans, streets, businesses and portraits. The collection also features paintings, drawings, metalwork, sculpture, prints and photographs, and includes works by notable local artists such as Paul Horiuchi, George Tsutakawa and Frank Okada. The Albert Balch Autograph Collection, part of the Seattle Collection, features original letters, photographs and signed copies of published works. It includes signatures by Helen Keller, Babe Ruth and T. S. Elliot." - SPL Website

The Central branch also holds two additional special collections, an extensive genealogy collection focused on records and families in North America, and an aviation history collection. The library has also made an effort to provide access to collection through curation of digital collections on their website.

The central library has an interesting history, and made many headlines after opening doors to a newly built Central branch, an architecturally fascinating building designed by Rem Koolhaas in 2004.



Another interesting aspect of the Seattle Room are the architectural models of some of the other branches built or re-modeled during the Libraries for All Campaign.

Society of the Cincinnati Library

The Society of the Cincinnati was founded by Continental and French officers who fought in the Revolutionary War. The society was formed to continue to foster the friendships built during the war and in remembrance of the principles for which they fought. The society is named for the Roman hero Cincinnatus. George Washington was elected the first President General of the society, a position he held until his death in 1799. The society has continued through the membership of direct descendents of the original founders and other eligible officers.

"In addition to a museum and library at Anderson House, the Society supports scholarship, publications, historic preservation efforts and other programs to promote increased knowledge and appreciation of the achievements of American independence." --Short History of the Society

The headquarters of the society is housed in Anderson House, a beautiful Guilded Age mansion in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC.


The house was built as the winter home of Larz and Isobel Anderson in 1905. The house is impressively preserved to showcase the original architecture and furnishings. The billiard room has been converted into a small exhibit space.

The home is a National Historic Landmark and is well worth a visit if you have the opportunity.

In 1998 the basement was entirely renovated to create an inviting library space for researchers to access the impressive collection of "printed and manuscript materials relating to the military and naval history of the eighteenth century, with a particular concentration on the people and events of the American Revolution." The collection spans several areas including, The Art of War, Official Military Documents, Contemporary Accounts and Discourses, Manuscripts, Maps, Papers related to the origins of the society, Anderson Family Collection, Graphic Arts, Literature, a Modern Reference Collection (works published post 1820), as well as books published by members of the society. This collection is a must see for any researcher interested in the Revolutionary War. Anderson House is open for public tours, see their website for more information. Contact the library if you are interested in researching the collection. The library does sometimes accept volunteers for projects. Email the library at "library (at) societyofthecincinnati.org" for more information.