A Natural History of Unicorns: Smithsonian Collaborations in the World of Library, Archives, and Museums. Martin R. Kalfatovic. 2009 TELDAP International Conference. February 25, 2009. Taipei, Taiwan.

1. Martin R. Kalfatovic Smithsonian Institution Libraries 25 February 2009 A Natural History of Unicorns Smithsonian Collaborations in the World of Library, Archives, and Museums 史密森尼在檔案館圖書館與 博物館界的合作案

2. Vast, But Not Infinite

3. Vast, But Not Infinite “ I assumed you packed the library in 1,000 volume boxes, each box having a capacity of precisely one cubic meter. All space to the farthest known spiral galaxies would not hold the Universal Library. In fact, you would need this volume of space so often that the number of packed universes would be a figure with only some 60 zeros less than the figure for the number of volumes… The figure is not infinite, it is a finite figure.” - Kurd Lasswitz, “The Universal Library.” 1901

5. Vast, But Not Infinite The sum of our collections, Libraries, Archives and Museums is Vast, but by most practical – and even impractical counting methodologies – it is finite. Vast, but Finite!

6. Vast, But Not Infinite 巨大的，但不是無限的

7. The Memex In 1945, Vannavar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, outlined the ultimate tool of the near term future, the Memex, in the article “As We May Think”

10. LIBRARIES 圖書館

11. ARCHIVES 檔案館 LIBRARIES 圖書館

12. ARCHIVES 檔案館 LIBRARIES 圖書館 MUSEUMS 博物館

13. Memory Institutions

14. Memory Institutions: Libraries

15. Memory Institutions: Libraries “ Some bookes are to bee tasted, others to bee swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. That is, some bookes are to be read only in parts; other to bee read, but not curiously; and some few to bee read wholly, and with diligence and attention” – Francis Bacon (1612)

16. Memory Institutions: Libraries “ Defenders of the book often stress the ‘pleasure of handling books’ as a reason for the continued use. Of course this argument sometimes amounts to little more than an appeal to the bibliophile’s pleasure in handling his possessions” - Geoffrey Nunberg (1993)

17. Memory Institutions: Libraries “ As an agent of change, printing altered methods of data collections, storage and retrieval systems, and communications networks used by learned communities throughout Europe” - Elizabeth L. Eisenstein The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe (1983)

18. Memory Institutions: Libraries Fringe works will receive use (the “long tail”) Create a deepened sense of history A comprehensive topical library will let people know both what they do know and what they don’t know A new culture of interaction and participation

19. Memory Institutions: Archives

20. Memory Institutions: Archives Unlike libraries, where the objects, books, can have their content transformed to other media without too much loss of original intent…

21. Memory Institutions: Archives Unlike libraries, where the objects, books, can have their content transformed to other media without too much loss of original intent… … a manuscript letter, a mimeographed memo, a diary page, loses some of its being when translated to a printed page or a computer screen.

22. Memory Institutions: Archives

23. Memory Institutions: Museums

24. Memory Institutions: Museums 26,000,000 21,000,000 5,000,000 Harvard Univ. Herbarium/Mus. Comp. Zoo. 30,000,000 21,000,000 9,000,000 American Museum of Natural History, New York 58,877,300 50,000,000 8,877,300 Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 60,200,000 55,000,000 5,200,000 Natural History Museum, London 83,000,000 78,500,000 4,500,000 National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC Total Animal Specimens Plant Specimens Institution

26. Memory Institutions: Museums

27. Memory Institutions: Museums

28. Memory Institutions: Museums

29. Memory Institutions: Museums National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 650,000 + artworks and artifacts

33. Factors: Wetware

37. “ The world has arrived at an age of cheap complex devices of great reliability; and something is bound to come of it” - Vannevar Bush (1945) Factors: Conclusion

42. Smithsonian Libraries Digital Projects

43. Smithsonian Institution Libraries Art and Design 藝術與設計

44. Smithsonian Institution Libraries Art and Design 藝術與設計 History and Culture 歷史和文化

45. Smithsonian Institution Libraries Art and Design 藝術與設計 Science 科學 History and Culture 歷史和文化

49. The Biodiversity Heritage Library is the largest collaboration yet undertaken by Smithsonian Libraries. SIL Serves as the Secretariat Hosts the BHL Program Director Biodiversity Heritage Library

52. The cultivation of natural science cannot be efficiently carried on without reference to an extensive library Charles Darwin, et al (1847)‏ Darwin, C. R. et al. 1847. Copy of Memorial to the First Lord of the Treasury [Lord John Russell], respecting the Management of the British Museum. Parliamentary Papers, Accounts and Papers 1847, paper number (268), volume XXXIV.253 (13 April): 1-3. [Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online]

53. The Natural History of Unicorns “ Each object in the Museum … would have been associated with a book (or several books) in the Library. However, there would also be many books which could not correspond with any exhibit (the natural history of unicorns , for example, or the geometry of round squares) …

54. The Natural History of Unicorns … One had then … a perfectly balanced edifice, in which everything which the human mind is capable of inventing or understanding has its place.” - Andrew Crumey, Pfitz (1995)

56. Thank You ... for sticking around! 感謝你 !