.: Collections
The Smithsonian Libraries' physical collections are housed primarily in the museums and research centers that we serve. More information about the individual library locations.
Our collection of 1.5 million printed books, ephemera and manuscripts can be searched via our online catalog, SIRIS (link opens in a new window). Many of our natural history titles related to biodiversity can be found in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
The Smithsonian Libraries' online 'Digital Library' contains digital publications, collections and objects including:
- online exhibitions
- webcasts
- digital editions of books in our collections
- bibliographies and fact sheets,
- finding aids and inventories for trade literature and artist files collections.
You can search across the titles and descriptions of items and collections within the Digital Library, or browse by topic area.
SIL also manages the web presence for selected Smithsonian publications: