The Smithsonian Institution, established in 1846, is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. It comprises an extensive network of galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and research facilities, each offering unique insights into various fields such as history, science, art, and culture. Here is an overview of the key units within the Smithsonian Institution.
Galleries
National Portrait Gallery
This museum tells the multifaceted story of America by portraying individuals who have shaped the nation’s history, development, and culture.
Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century.
Libraries
American Art and Portrait Gallery Library
To support the research of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Archives of American Art, the AA/PG Library collection of 180,000 books, exhibition catalogs, catalogues raisonnes, serials, and dissertations is concentrated in the area of American art, history, and biography with supportive materials on European art.
Anacostia Community Museum Library
The library was created in 1991 to support the research, exhibitions, and public programs of the Smithsonian’s first neighborhood museum, as well as the research needs of the Smithsonian and researchers at large.
Botany and Horticulture Library
The Botany library began as a departmentally run library in the 19th century at the Smithsonian Institution.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library
The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library is the major resource in the United States for books, trade catalogs, serials, pictures, and archival material covering design and decorative art from the Renaissance to the present.
Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology
Located in the National Museum of American History, this library houses rare books and manuscripts related to the history of science and technology.
Environmental Research Center Library
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Library was founded in 1977 at the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies (CBCES) to support the Center’s research and education programs.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library
The library supports the research and exhibition program of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It is the only library within Washington, DC dedicated solely to modern and contemporary art.
John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology
The Anthropology Library, officially known as the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology, is located within the Anthropology Department of the National Museum of Natural History.
Libraries
Museum Support Center Library
The Museum Support Center Library serves the research needs of all staff at the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center (MSC) in Suitland, Maryland.
National Air and Space Museum Library
Supporting research in aeronautics and astronautics, this library is part of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives network.
National Museum of African American History & Culture Library
The library is devoted to collecting and providing access to resources that support scholarship in African American history, culture, and the African Diaspora. The Library also supports research in genealogy and family history.
National Museum of American History Library
As a premier American history collection and one of 21 libraries in the Smithsonian library system, the library supports research in the following areas: all areas of American history, including social, cultural, political, and economic events and development, along with their impact on everyday American life.
National Museum of Asian Art Library
The National Museum of Asian Art Library originated as a collection of four thousand monographs, periodical issues, offprints, and sales catalogues that art collector Charles Lang Freer donated to the Smithsonian Institution as part of his gift to the nation.
National Museum of Natural History Library
The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Library consists of the main location and 11 specialized collections throughout the NMNH building. These collections are in the NMNH Entomology, Invertebrate Zoology, Vertebrate Zoology, Mineral Sciences, and Paleobiology departments.
National Postal Museum Library
Your philatelic adventure starts here. The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum houses one of the largest and most significant philatelic and postal history collections in the world and one of the world’s most comprehensive library resources on philately and postal history. The Library has one of the world’s largest and most accessible collections of philatelic literature.
National Zoological Park Library
The evolution of the Libraries’ outreach at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park (NZP) and Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) reflects how profoundly American zoos have changed in the last 50 years.
Tropical Research Institute Library
The Earl Silas Tupper Library in Tropical Biology, located on Ancón Hill, Panama City, Republic of Panamá, supports the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The Library is one of twenty-one branches of the Smithsonian Libraries, supporting research, publications, exhibits and public programming of STRI, as well as those of other museums and research institutions in Panamá and across Central America.
Vine Deloria, Jr. Library, National Museum of the American Indian
In operation since 1999, the Vine Deloria, Jr. Library of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is the 20th library of the Smithsonian Libraries and is located in Suitland, MD in the Cultural Resources Center (CRC) where it shares research and collection space with the NMAI Archives. The Deloria Library research materials include over 40,000 volumes of books, periodicals, microfilm, and media in the main collection; a small, but growing rare book section; Native American Artist Files; and, ephemera.
Archives
Archives of American Art
This archive collects and preserves documents and records related to the history of the visual arts in the United States.
Smithsonian Institution Archives
The official repository for the history of the Smithsonian, including administrative records, personal papers of scientists, and historical photographs.
Museums
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Reopened in 2014, located on the Upper East Side. The renovation includes new interactive galleries and digital tools for exploring design and innovation.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Housed in the same building as the National Portrait Gallery, this museum contains one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world.
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum
Our mission is to create space for women’s history on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., deepen our nation’s stories, and inspire conversation, connection, and change. Our ultimate vision is a more representative history, a more collective future. Women’s history is American history.
Anacostia Community Museum
The Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) aspires to illuminate and share the untold, and often overlooked stories of people furthest from opportunity in the Greater Washington D.C. region. Our mission is to tell stories of everyday people making impactful changes, who use their collective power to tackle complex issues and advance a more equitable future for all. .
Arts and Industries Building
The Arts and Industries Building (AIB) is the Smithsonian’s second oldest building and a national hub for creative exchange between ideas and objects from our past and our future.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Situated on the National Mall, this museum is dedicated to modern and contemporary art, featuring works by artists from around the globe.
Museums
National Museum of African American History & Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture.
National Museum of African Art
This museum is dedicated to the collection, exhibition, conservation, and study of the arts of Africa.
National Museum of American History
Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., this museum houses artifacts that reflect the social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history of the United States.
National Museum of the American Indian
A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex.
National Museum of the American Indian – New York
Expanded in 2019, located in the Financial District. The expansion includes new exhibition spaces and educational facilities for showcasing Native American art and culture.
National Museum of the American Latino
The contributions and experiences of Latinos in the United States are an essential part of our nation’s history and culture. The National Museum of the American Latino will showcase the achievements and contributions of Latinos to American history.
National Museum of Asian Art
The National Museum of Asian Art features Asian art and culture from ancient times to the present.
National Museum of Natural History
Also on the National Mall, this museum offers exhibits on natural history, including fossils, minerals, plants, animals, and human cultures from around the world.
National Postal Museum
Through the preservation and interpretation of our postal and philatelic collections, the Smithsonian National Postal Museum educates, challenges, and inspires its audiences on the breadth of American experiences.
Research
Conclusion
The Smithsonian Institution offers a vast array of museums, libraries, galleries, and research centers that provide unparalleled resources for education, research, and public engagement. From the rich collections of art and history to cutting-edge scientific research, the Smithsonian continues to be a beacon of knowledge and culture, attracting millions of visitors each year.
