Host Presentations
Welcome from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives - Scott Miller, Chief Scientist in the Office of Under Secretary for Science and Research, and Interim Director of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.
11:05 - 11:15 am
Scott Miller, Interim Director of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives since January 2020, will welcome attendees to the 53rd CBHL annual meeting. As a scientist (Entomologist) and frequent library user of Smithsonian’s rich Natural History print and electronic collections, Dr. Miller will bring his unique perspective as a scientist managing one of the largest museum library complexes in the world.
Introduction to Smithsonian Libraries and Archives - Barbara Ferry, Interim Manager, Research Services & Head, Natural and Physical Sciences Department
11:15 - 11:35 am
Barbara Ferry, Interim Manager of Research Services for all 21 Branch Libraries and Head of the Natural and Physical Sciences Department will give an overview of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. She will also present on what it has been like managing various library services during the Covid-19 pandemic.
History of the Botany-Horticulture library - Robin Everly, Branch Librarian, Botany and Horticulture Library
12:00 to 12:20 pm
Because you can’t see in person how wonderful the Botany and Horticulture Library looks, since its 2013 remodeling, Robin Everly will present how the space and collection has changed since CBHL visited in 2000. She will also present some history on this branch library within Smithsonian’s 21 Branch library system.
Keynote Presentation
The Future of Biodiversity in the Age of Humans: Why Science Libraries Matter? - W. John Kress, Visiting scholar, Dartmouth College and The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University / Distinguished Scientist and Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
1:00 to 2:00 pm
The complexity of life on earth is a product of the diversity of species multiplied by the diversity of their interactions. This Keynote will focus on a charismatic group of tropical plants and the ecology of the animals with which they have coevolved. These ecological interactions between plants, their herbivores, and their pollinators reveal intricate patterns of evolutionary history and how these species are responding to today’s rapidly changing planet. Human-caused habitat alterations, biological invasions, and climate change may significantly modify and disrupt through time and space these historical patterns of ecological interactions. As scientists, and as citizens, we must recognize and address the past and present causes of these disruptions. This task cannot be accomplished without the historical background, current data, and contemporary perspectives provided by science libraries. The future of the Earth’s biological complexity in the Age of Humans, in the Anthropocene, depends on our solutions.
Member Presentations
The Biodiversity Heritage Library: 2020-21 Update – Martin Kalfatovic, Associate Director, Digital Programs & Initiatives and Program Director, BHL
11:45 am -12:00 pm
Martin Kalfatovic will give CBHL attendees an overview and highlights on BHL and what has been happening in the last year. The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL is revolutionizing global research by providing free, worldwide access to knowledge about life on Earth.
How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Leadership: Zen and the art of moving at library - Alliana Wallace - Head Librarian, Denver Botanic Gardens
4:10 to 4:50 pm
Faced with a complex task and a shifting deadline, a librarian finds her strength, inspiration, and success in moments of change. Growth sometimes happens when you are most tired. Part personal life lesson, part professional career lesson, all told through the story of moving a library and the added challenge of the pandemic. Come along on our journey! Learn how to recognize opportunities in demanding times. Learn about the transformations at the Helen Fowler Library. Commiserate with us during our trials and tribulations of a library move and pandemic delayed library opening.
Moving Forward by Looking Back: Understanding the history of plant common names in order to connect all people with plants - Kathryn Downing - Technical Services Librarian, Denver Botanic Gardens
4:50 to 5:10 pm
In a slightly ironic sense, the 21st century botanical library can move towards a better future, reaching a wider audience, by taking the time to understand its past. Early on in botanical history, racism and imperialism was commonplace in scientific and vernacular botanical nomenclature. The vernacular names of those days have traveled through the times without consideration as to the roles they may play in the persistence of social harms. To rectify this oversight, members of CBHL have been working with the Plant Nomenclature and Taxonomy (PNT) Community of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) to address the ongoing issue of problematic common names more aggressively. This presentation will discuss the significance of the project and what it means for the future of institutional practices, while also sharing the project’s origins, methods, and some specific findings.
Member Presentations
Early Garden Photography: Glass Lantern Slides - Joyce Connolly, Smithsonian Gardens, Archives of American Gardens
11:00 to 11:50 am
Garden photography hasn’t always been as easy as point-and-shoot on your cell phone. Learn about hand-tinted glass lantern slides and how they were used a century ago to document gardens and tell their stories from Joyce Connolly of the Archives of American Gardens.
Engaging Youth Pre and Post Pandemic at Schumacher Library, Olbrich Botanical Gardens - Amy O’Shea, Horticulture Librarian, Horticulture Librarian, Schumacher Library, Olbrich Botanical Gardens
12:00 to 12:20 pm
Children of today are the future gardeners, and garden supporters, of tomorrow! In an effort to engage children with the library and the gardens, Horticulture Librarian Amy O’Shea, with input from the Olbrich Education team, created Garden Adventure Packs a library resource that any visitor can check-out. Available for only 6 months before Covid-19 hit, the packs were rapidly gaining in popularity. With the library re-opening on the horizon the Garden Adventure Packs are being reimaged into Grab and Go Garden Baskets, a pandemic friendly way for youth, and their families, to engage with both the library and botanical gardens.
Online educational resources (OER) for the plant and agricultural sciences - Suzi Teghtmeyer, Agriculture and Plant Sciences Librarian, Michigan State University Libraries
12:20 to 12:40 pm
Working in an academic library my patron base consists largely of students and instructors, most of whom have been schooling virtually over the past year. Many instructors have had the burden of finding electronic textbooks and supplementary materials. Unfortunately most textbook producers don’t allow ebook versions, plus students have difficulty finding required print textbook materials affordably priced from online booksellers. Consequently, instructors are reaching out to the Library to find alternative teaching materials which leads librarians to newer alternatives called OER – Online Electronic Resources. Such materials are freely available textbook and reference materials, and can include full books, articles, videos and individualized lessons. In this talk I will share my work on identifying and compiling OER materials in the botanical, forestry and agricultural fields, options for my instructors to adopt, students can consult for supplementation, and interested parties can examine for their own educational endeavors.
The Value of Field Photographs to Botany Research & Beyond: Botanical Libraries & Biological Collections - Brandy Watts, BRIT Librarian, Fort Worth, Texas
12:50 to 1:10 pm
As botanical libraries move into the future, collaborative digitization initiatives between libraries and herbaria focusing on materials generated through the practice of field collecting will become increasingly valuable to research across the sciences and the humanities. In this presentation, discussion will be given to the field photographs of Alain H. Liogier, the Sherwin Carlquist Collection, the plant humanities, and the extended specimen.