A Fond Farewell

By David Haberstich

When I accepted the position of coordinator/editor of the Smithsonian Institution Collections Blog about two years ago, I certainly didn't think I would all too soon be presiding over its demise. But I'm afraid that's the shocking truth--the party's over. This apparently will become the last post for this blog. The Powers That Be, so to speak, have decided to pull our plug. 

To provide a bit more gravitas, I'll try to explain matters fairly, although without going into technical details that I don't fully understand. The shutdown decision was precipitated by an annoying technical problem. When I discovered that a previous post--an excellent, informative exhibition review--was not displaying or linking on the SIRIS/Collections Search Center home page, as it has for many years, I reported the malfunction and requested technical assistance. Eventually I learned that a remedy might introduce a security issue, which led to a re-evaluation of the Collections Blog and the increased cost of supporting it. It was decided to withdraw financial and technical support from this blog, partly because a number of new Smithsonian blogs have emerged in recent years as alternative platforms. For my own blogging efforts, I can make submissions to the National Museum of American History's highly successful platform, "Oh Say Can You See." Unfortunately, there are a few archival units without logical alternatives at the present time.

The Collections Blog has been lively over the years, with contributions from Smithsonian staff, especially from archival units, as well as interns, volunteers, contractors, and guests. During its lifetime, a total of 963 posts appeared! We've been flexible, featuring both extended scholarly essays, as well as brief posts spotlighting single collection items. I want to express my appreciation to contributors, both during my time as the last manager as well as those who worked with prior editors and managers. I'm especially indebted to Haley Steinhilber, who has been very active as author, editor, and promoter of the blog this year.

And, of course, we appreciate our followers and readers around the world. Thank you for your continuing support over the years!

I'm assured that our blogging efforts will be "archived" and will still be available online. I certainly plan to read a number that I missed the first time around.