|
Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute Library
Library
Overview | News & Links
Contact & Staff Info | Collections
 The
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Library (STRI Library),
also known as the Earl Silas Tupper Library in Tropical Biology,
is one of the 20 libraries of the division Smithsonian Institution
Libraries (SIL). The Branch is located in at Portobello Avenue,
Ancón, Panama City, Republic of Panama. The Branch has sublocations
on the Island of Barro Colorado, on the Gatun Lake of the Panama
Canal, and on Colón Island, at the research station in the
province of Bocas del Toro. The Library supports research, publications,
exhibits and public programming of the Institute, and museums and
bureaus of the Smithsonian Institution.
In
1923, the Institute for Research in Tropical America, a group that
included private foundations, universities and the Smithsonian Institution,
established a research laboratory on Barro Colorado Island, and
became one of the first biological reserves in the New World. It
was managed by the National Research Council, and its purpose was
to investigate the flora and fauna of tropical America. In 1949,
the facility was renamed the Canal Zone Biological Area and, by
Act of Congress on July 2 of that year, was placed under the control
of a board composed of the heads of several executive departments
and prominent scientists. In 1946, the reorganization plan approved
by Congress transferred operations to the Smithsonian Institution.
The
Canal Zone Biological Area was incorporated into the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute in 1966 to provide continuity to the
research program conducted at BCI and to establish a center where
students from all over the world could conduct tropical research
under conditions similar to those of an academic institution. More
information on STRI can be found in its website at www.stri.org
|
