Visiting the Libraries
The Smithsonian Libraries serve Smithsonian researchers, curators, and staff as well as scholars and the general public with collections in 21 locations in Washington, DC, Maryland, New York, and Panama. The Libraries have collections and staff in most of the museums and research centers at the Smithsonian.
The Office of the Director, including the Development and Public Information Offices, as well as the Technical Services and Digital Services departments are all located in the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.
Libraries are generally open from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday excluding U.S. government holidays. Each location may have different hours for visiting researchers, and may require an appointment. Please check the webpages for the locations you are interested in visiting before you come! Not sure which locations may have the material you are interested in using? Search our catalog to find where collections are housed.
Librarians or archivists interested in meeting with "behind-the-scenes" technical services or digital services staff may contact the Director's Office to arrange a visit by phone at +1 (202) 633-2240 or via email.