A Plan for Managing the Alexander Graham Bell-Joseph Henry Rare Book Collection in the Smithsonian’s Dibner Library

The Alexander Graham Bell-Joseph Henry Rare Book Collection, housed at the Dibner Library at the Smithsonian Institution, comprises the two scientists’ private libraries and was donated to the Smithsonian Libraries by Bell’s family in 1970s. The prominence of both Bell and Henry in the 19th century history of science and the close professional connection between the two figures underlines the importance of making the collection accessible to the public. This project focuses on three major collections management processes—cataloging, preserving, and digitizing—as key elements of accessibility. The proposed cataloging system is MAchine-Readable Cataloging (MARC), also used by the Library of Congress, to facilitate access