Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Institution Archives The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) is the archives of the Smithsonian Institution. SIA is located in Washington, D.C., United States, and maintains the archives related to the history of the 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, 9 research facilities, and the people of the Smithsonian. SIA's collections consist of archival material related to art, history, science and the humanities. This includes document, image, audio-visual, electronic, oral history and videohistory collections about expeditions, biographies, and general history about the Smithsonian Institution. In 1891, William Jones Rhees, Chief Clerk of the Smithsonian Institution, became Keeper of the
Smithsonian Libraries Smithsonian Libraries Smithsonian Libraries (SIL), formerly known as Smithsonian Institution Libraries, is a library system comprising 20 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers, as well as central support services which include a Book Conservation Laboratory and an Imaging Center. The Libraries serve Smithsonian Institution staff as well as the scholarly community and general public with information and reference support. Its collections number over 1.5 million volumes including 40,000 rare books and 2,000 manuscripts. The Libraries also holds the United States' largest trade literature collection, which includes over 300,000 commercial catalogs dating from the early nineteenth