Library

[The contents presented here are a summarized selection of the most important elements related to the STRI Library and Archive. For more detailed and updated information on services, collections, and mechanisms and conditions of use, please check the blog or contact us].

About the Library and Archive

The STRI Library and Archive at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) is one of twenty-one branches of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (SLA), the library and archive system of the Smithsonian Institution (SI). It is the only branch that has its own building and is situated outside the United States, in Panama.

Located at the foot of the forested Cerro Ancon, the highest promontory in Panama City, and within the unique natural environment of the Canal, the Library and Archive is part of a highly specialized research center. It provides knowledge and memory management services to STRI units, as well as to any other individuals, communities, collectives, organizations, or institutions.

The Library and Archive supports research, publication, training, continuing education, exhibition, and outreach/public programs. It also develops activities and projects focused on the recovery, organization, and visibility of knowledge and memories, particularly in the fields of natural history and the history of science, both nationally and regionally.

Blog

The STRI Library and Archive’s blog, "Donde habitan las palabras" (Where Words Dwell), is a digital humanities project that regularly publishes entries and other digital content, including library and archival research projects, virtual exhibits, bibliographic compilations, and more, all related to the collections and the stories they hold.

History

The STRI Library was established in 1925 on Barro Colorado Island (BCI). Its initial collection consisted of volumes from the Biologia Centrali-Americana series. In 1933, American entomologist and BCI resident manager James Zetek obtained funds to house these volumes in a small building. In 1957, Zetek donated a collection of 2,500 documents (books, journals, and offprints), and in 1958 a temporary librarian was hired to catalog these holdings. Almost ten years later, the first official librarian, Alcira Mejía, was appointed. In the 1970s, the library was moved to STRI’s building in Cerro Ancon, and in 1983 a dedicated building was constructed, with a four-story annex added in 1994.

In this space, now the STRI Library and Archive, the BCI volumes that formed the foundation of the collection are still preserved. And the spirit that inspired the creation of this place of knowledge and memory management remains alive as well.

Collections

Currently, the STRI Library collection includes approximately 34,000 monographs, 24,000 journals, a vertical archive, maps, a reference collection, and a special collection. The latter safeguards about 900 unique monographs, including the complete Biologia Centrali-Americana series.

The collection covers a wide range of subjects and contains the bibliography produced within the framework of STRI’s activities.

The STRI Library also provides access to various digital information tools and platforms. Below is a list of the most important ones, also accessible via the buttons in the sidebar:

• Smithsonian Libraries. Library Research Tools
  https://library.si.edu/research
  Central platform for research resources, including OneSearch search, collection guides, and service listings.
• SRO (Smithsonian Research Online)
  https://research.si.edu/
  Search platform for research resources produced within the Smithsonian Institution.
• ILLiad
  https://library.si.edu/research
  Interlibrary loan platform, available exclusively to Smithsonian Institution staff.
• SIRIS
  https://siris-libraries.si.edu/
  Online catalog (OPAC) of the Smithsonian Institution Library System.
• STRI Research Guide
  https://library.si.edu/libraries/tropical-research-institute/striguide
  A comprehensive list of resources on research in the tropics and the history of STRI.
• E-journals, e-books, and databases
  http://qr7ug7ul2q.search.serialssolutions.com/
  Access to periodicals, e-books and databases managed by the Smithsonian Institution's library system.
• ProQuest
  https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/smithsonian/home.action
  Access to resources from the Smithsonian Institution's library and archive system via the ProQuest platform, available exclusively to Smithsonian Institution staff.
• SI Archives
  https://siarchives.si.edu/
  Access to the Smithsonian Institution's archival collections.
• STRI Archives at SI
  https://siarchives.si.edu/history/smithsonian-tropical-research-institute
  Access to archival resources belonging to STRI.

The topics covered by the bibliographic collection, physical and virtual, align closely with STRI’s primary research areas, including anthropology and archaeology, human ecology, paleoecology, marine biology and ecology, tropical diversity, behavior and adaptive evolution, tropical forest physiology, and the Panama Canal and its watershed.

The STRI Archive, which is still being developed, aims to recover the human stories behind the academic knowledge managed by the library and to build a narrative of STRI’s actions and experiences in Panama throughout its history.

Services

The STRI Library offers services both to the general public (especially high school and college students, teachers, professionals, and researchers) and to SI members.

The general public (i.e. people without a valid Smithsonian Institution ID) may visit and use the facilities during open hours, consult the library's catalog via public computers or their own devices, request books for in-library use (no home loans), and scan documents (but not photocopy or print) within the limits imposed by copyright and fair use laws.

SI members (i.e. people with a valid Smithsonian Institution ID)  can open an account and manage a borrowing card, receive orientation and training on the facilities and services, obtain face-to-face or virtual reference services, use the reading room and its annexes, borrow documents from the physical collections (excluding special and reference collections), request interlibrary loans, and access all available virtual resources.

All visitors must comply with the STRI Library’s rules of use, posted at the entrance.

The STRI Archive is under development, and its use is temporarily restricted.

For more details on the services, mechanisms, and conditions of use, please contact us.

Visits

The STRI Library and Archive welcomes visits from organized groups (high schools, universities, institutions, research groups) by appointment. To schedule a visit, please contact us.

Collaborations

The STRI Library and Archive is open to establishing collaborations of all kinds with individuals, groups, associations, organizations, and public and private institutions in Panama and across Latin America and the Caribbean. Such collaborations may include resource exchanges, activities and services related to bibliography, archives, information management, exhibitions, and research.

Support

The STRI Library and Archive welcomes any form of support that can help advance its work and projects, including donations.

Document donations

The STRI Library and Archive is open to donations of books and other documentary and research materials that add depth and scope to the community’s information resources. Of special interest are old books and articles, and archival materials directly related to scientific work in Panama (manuscripts, photographs, personal items, slides, videos, diskettes, audio tapes, notes, records, index cards, maps, plans, illustrations, drawings, posters, posters, brochures, etc.). The details of the donation process are outlined here to serve as a guide for those interested in donating such materials. For more detailed information, please contact us.

Volunteers

Volunteers have been an important support to the SI since its creation in 1846. For more information on volunteer opportunities at the STRI Library and Archive, please visit the corresponding page or contact the institution directly.