Smithsonian Institution: A Digital Treasure

1846, Congress established the Smithsonian Institution with funds donated by British scientist James Smithson. Although he never visited the United States, he left his legacy to create an institution dedicated to the "increase and dissemination of knowledge." After his nephew died without heirs, President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the inheritance, which amounted to $500,000. After debate, Congress accepted the donation and allocated it to a charitable fund. Eight years later, in 1846, President James Polk signed the act establishing the Smithsonian Institution as a public-private partnership, according to the bill drafted by Congressman Robert Dale Owen.

Since its founding in 1846, the Smithsonian's mission has been clear: "the increase and dissemination of knowledge." Today, the institution seeks to empower people worldwide to participate in that mission in new ways suited to the 21st century—an ambitious mission that ranges from palaeontology to contemporary art. The institution has grown to become a conglomerate of museums, galleries, libraries, and research centers.

The Smithsonian houses approximately 160 million objects, specimens, books and archives, but only a tiny percentage of these items are on display at any time. Digitisation allows them to be shown to the world on many platforms to encourage creativity, learning, knowledge and innovation. "Discovery through digitalisation" is one of its mottos.

The Smithsonian's digital platforms offer access to millions of images, artworks and articles, ranging from historical artefacts to contemporary masterpieces. This digital treasure trove facilitates academic research and provides an endless source of inspiration and resources.

The themes and disciplines of these funds are very varied. We highlight the areas of art, history and science. You can find everything from collections of decorative arts to articles on coral reef research to souvenirs from the 19th century.

In addition to announcing the latest news, their blog shares very particular insights and discoveries that may be of great interest to any curious person. To quote an article, "How we kept track of the names of 30,000 bees during digitisation," we found it surprising.

Smithsonian Open Access is the place to download, share and reuse millions of Smithsonian images without any legal restrictions or limitations. There are over 4.9 million digital items within this category and counting.

Thanks to this contribution, anyone can use 2D and 3D images and data for their exhibitions, research or collages. Smithsonian dedicates the digital asset to the public domain, meaning it is free of copyright restrictions and can be used for any purpose, free of charge, without additional permission from the Smithsonian.

We find all types of digitisations, including text, images, sound recordings, research data, 3D models, collections data and more.

The Smithsonian is an indispensable resource for cultural professionals that can enrich their practice in many ways.

A specific department supports Smithsonian Museums in their efforts to digitise collections as entirely, quickly, and cost-effectively as possible. The program's "Mass Digitization" team creates high-speed, high-quality digitisation processes to help museums catch up on their digitisation backlog. Its IT team devises automated ways to develop and improve collection records to make the Smithsonian's holdings discoverable and accessible to everyone. Without a doubt, museums worldwide can take the Smithsonian as a reference in digitising cultural heritage and learn from its methodologies.

Thanks to the digitisation of these holdings, artists can find inspiration and graphic resources in the Smithsonian's art collections, exploring masterpieces from the Renaissance to modern art. Curators and researchers will find tools and resources for their projects. They can use the Smithsonian's outreach efforts to enhance their professional skills and stay up-to-date with trends in the field of museology.

In conclusion, the Smithsonian Institution is much more than a collection of museums; it not only has formidable collections but has also been at the forefront of digitising and disseminating digitalisation worldwide. In an increasingly digital world, the Smithsonian continues to be an endless source of inspiration, research, and discovery.

We invite you to discover all the online treasures the Smithsonian Institution offers. It will surely surprise you!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Smithsonian Institution [online]. Smithsonian Institution. [Accessed March 19, 2024]. Available at: https://www.si.edu/