From Plant Press, Vol. 7, No. 2 from April 2004.
Alain Touwaide, a recognized and renowned scholar of the history of ancient, medicinal, and Renaissance botany, has been a Research Associate in our Department sponsored by Dan Nicolson and W. John Kress for a number of years. While in residence, Touwaide has made great use of the library resources in the Department, in the Smithsonian, the Library of the National Institutes of Health, and the Library of Congress in pursuing his research on the history of botany and the transmission of plant knowledge from the ancient Greeks to present time. In addition to receiving outside funding support from the EarthWatch Institute and the Smithsonian Institution’s Women’s Committee (with Nicolson) Touwaide has been involved in the development of botany exhibits at NMNH, the Library of Medicine, and the Hunt Institute in Pittsburgh. His work has not only brought recognition to himself, but also to the Department of Botany and the Institution.
Touwaide has now brought to the Department his own reference collection of monographs, journals, and microfilms documenting the history of botany. In 2003 Touwaide first made the proposal to Nicolson and Kress to bring this resource to the Department to enhance his research as well as that of the Department’s scientists and other scholars in the field. After discussion with the Botany Space Committee, it was decided that “The Cave” on the 5th floor of the National Museum of Natural History was the best space to house the collection in order to make it available to all who would like to use it. At that point an agreement (reviewed by the Office of General Council) was made to house the collection in the Department for a five‑year period (with the possibility of renewal) with no liability for damage or loss to us. This arrangement was previously discussed and approved by the Smithsonian Institution Library (SIL). There will not be any impact on the Botany Library. Touwaide will catalogue the collection in collaboration with SIL technical services with a compatible software system.
The Touwaide library collection is a fantastic temporary resource in the Department for understanding the history of botany and it is recommended that those who are interested should make use of it in collaboration with Touwaide. When the cataloguing and arrangement of the volumes are complete later this year, Touwaide will provide a tour of the resource for all those interested in the collection.