| Spring/Summer 1997 | Smithsonian Institution Libraries | page 7 |
One library professional and two interns were welcomed to the Libraries at a coffee April 3.
Marcela Visan, Head of Technical Department, Central Library of the Politechnica University, Timisoara, Romania, is sponsored by the SOROS Foundation and the Library of Congress. She studied cataloging activities in an automated environment for three months in the Cataloging Services Department.
Dagmar Kähler is completing her library degree from the Fachhochschule, Hamburg, Germany, by serving a five-month internship in the Natural History Branch Library. Her training concentrates on services and projects in Vertebrate and Invertebrate Zoology.
Rachel Bien, University of Maryland graduate student, is serving four months in the Preservation Services Department creating a data base of information gathered as part of a preservation survey of the Libraries' Special Collections.
Vicki Avera
Internship Coordinator
Audubon & the Smithsonian opened on May 21 in the Libraries' Exhibition Gallery. On display are highlights of the publishing history of John James Audubon's seminal works, The Birds of America and Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, along with specimens, art works, and correspondence related to the artist's "Great Work." Guest curator Helena Wright of the Museum of American History notes "a number of specimens came to the Smithsonian as a direct consequence of Audubon's friendship with Spencer Baird, the Smithsonian's first assistant secretary." The exhibition is open until May 1998.
Formed in 1990, the Libraries' Activities Committee organizes and hosts staff activities, such as the winter holiday party, a summer picnic, Oktoberfest lunch, and informal events to meet new staff. The committee's amenities fund was established to provide resources for cards and flowers for staff members in cases of illness, sympathy, and congratulations. Recently the committee raised funds at a "Basket, Bunny and Bake" craft raffle and bake sale, one of many held throughout the year whose proceeds replenish the amenities fund. We are fortunate to have the following staff members on this committee: Kelly McCraney (Director's Office), Wanda Lynch (Central Reference Branch), Anne Graham (Acquisitions Services), Stephanie Thomas (Museum of American History Branch), Lisa Welch (Preservation Services), and Bev Johnson, Chair (Cataloging Services).
Bev Johnson