Welcome to the Archives Center 

****Annoucement: Additional Reference Hours****

From May 28th-August 1st both Archives Center reference locations will be open Monday through Thursday.

Hours:

Archives Center Reference Room, National Museum of American History

10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Building 19, Garber Facility, Suitland Maryland

9:45 am to 3:00 pm

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Reference services are available in our small reading room on the first floor of the National Museum of American History and at the off-site location in Suitland, Maryland. Seating is limited. Researchers must make appointments two weeks in advance of planned visits. We also strongly urge all researchers to contact the Archives Center to discuss their research needs prior to scheduling an appointment and visiting so that we can ensure space and collections availability.

Please note: Reference services have changed significantly in order to accommodate access to the collections off-site and in the Museum.

Location, Days, Hours:

Archives Center Reference Room, National Museum of American History

Monday and Tuesday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Building 19, Garber Facility, Suitland Maryland

Wednesday and Thursday, 9:45 am to 3:00 pm

Scheduling Appointments:

All appointments must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. To request an appointment send an email to archivescenter@si.edu . Please be as specific as possible about your research topic and/or the collections you hope to use. To learn about the collections search the Smithsonian's on-line cataloguing system SIRIS before contacting the Archives Center to schedule an appointment.

Research at the Archives Center Reading Room (Mondays and Tuesdays)

Researchers should enter the National Museum of American History through the South Wing Staff Entrance (Directions here). Non-Smithsonian researchers will need to sign in, obtain a temporary visitors badge, and be escorted by an Archives Center staff member.

• Researchers may bring computers and use cameras to take digital notes. There is currently NO wifi available.
• A copier is available for self-service photocopying. Copies are $.25/page (10 free copies a year). Payment by cash, check or credit card.

Research at Building 19, Garber Facility, Suitland Maryland (Wednesdays and Thursdays)

• Researchers may bring computers and use cameras to take digital notes. There is currently NO wifi available.
• A copier is available for self-service photocopying. Copies are $.25/page (10 free copies a year). Payment by check or credit card only.
• Researchers will be required to break from 12:00 to 1:00. Researchers should bring lunch. A refrigerator and microwave are available for use in Building 19.

Getting to Building 19, Garber Facility (3904 Old Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland, 20746)

There are three ways to reach the Garber Facility, located in Suitland, Maryland, approximately six miles southeast of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall.

•  Take the Smithsonian's free hourly shuttle bus service between the Mall and Garber. Researchers using this service must take the shuttle which stops on the Mall side (Madison Drive) of the National Museum of American History (NMAH) at 9:00 am and arrives at Garber about 30 minutes later. Contact the Archives Center for specific instructions for taking the shuttle.

•  Drive to the facility: Free parking is available. For more details contact the Archives Center.

•  Take public transportation: Available via Metrorail (green line); the Garber Facility is a 10-15 minute walk from the Suitland Station. For more details see www.wmata.com

For further details, see Visiting the Archives Center, or contact the Archives Center's reference desk at 202-633-3270 or at archivescenter@si.edu

 

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The Archives Center supports the mission of the National Museum of American History by preserving and providing access to documentary evidence.

The Archives Center's collections complement the Museum's artifacts and are used for scholarly research, exhibitions, publications, documentary productions, school programs, and other research and educational activities.

The Archives Center holds more than 1,300 collections which are stored in the American History building and at off-site storage locations. In addition to paper-based textual records, many Center collections contain photographs, motion picture films, videotapes, and sound recordings.

The topics of technology, advertising, and music offer one way to categorize the Archives Center's varied holdings, but the collections are rich in important historical themes and topics that cut across these lines.  For example, collections in each category are sources for understanding the roles and activities of women in the American past.  Many Archives Center collections document entrepreneurial activity in which invention and marketing are inextricably linked.  The creation of nationally recognized brands and corporate identities and commercial depictions of gender, ethnicity, and other cultural categories are well represented in the holdings.

With few exceptions, Archives Center collections are acquired by donation, often in conjunction with the acquisition of related artifacts and in collaboration with the Museum's curatorial staff.  Documentation projects -- including oral and video histories -- actively create new research collections.  The Museum's ability to acquire and care for artifacts and archival materials in all physical formats and to generate contemporary documentation gives it a unique capacity to record the complexity and richness of the American experience.

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