SCOS Staff Picnic

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Documenting Smithsonian Research Publications The Smithsonian Research Bibliography

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In the past, the published results of Smithsonian research were not well documented and it was often only after a sudden need arose that publication data was collected and quantified.

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Reports to Smithsonian administration regarding research publications were often hurriedly and inconsistently compiled at the museum or unit level. The last full compilation of publications was done in 2000 for the Annals of the Smithsonian Institution.

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The Annals listed publications in linear fashion, by museum or unit. There was no way to search or create custom reports such as a list of papers published in a particular journal or those resulting from collaborations between SI units, etc.

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Then, in 2007 the Smithsonian Institution Libraries agreed to compile and manage an Institution-wide list of research publications by staff and affiliates. The request for this service was initiated by the Undersecretary for Science but participation later grew to other Smithsonian Museums and research units.

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The resulting “Smithsonian Research Bibliography” is now collected and managed electronically to allow the creation of customized reports and dynamic web pages.

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Authors enter publication data on simple web forms which also collect information about the author(s) including department and affiliation or status.

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A public website allows basic searches while more elaborate reports can be generated by Smithsonian staff with access to the database.

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The Research Bibliography data can also be re-used to create individual web pages listing publications by a particular staff member.

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Many items in the Research Bibliography are linked to the full text copy of the publication where available.

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Archiving Smithsonian Research Publications The Smithsonian Digital Repository

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In late 2005 the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, together with the Smithsonian Institution Archives, began a pilot project to collect, archive and make available the collected digital research output of the Smithsonian Institution. This “Smithsonian Digital Repository” now houses over 4000 digital reprints, data sets and other electronic publications. Using DSpace software, a popular open source digital repository tool, the Repository indexes the full text of documents, provides a system of permanent URLs, and complies with data standards widely used in digital libraries today.

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Several Research Institutions Already Use Dspace Technology

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In the Smithsonian’s Digital Repository, publications and other research content are divided into communities and collections, primarily reflecting the Institution’s organizational layout.

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Access to publications in the repository can be open or restricted.

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The full text of contents in the Repository are indexed and searchable via many scholarly websites (such as Google Scholar)