Skip to main content
  • Main menu
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
  • Home
Inventor Manny Villafana seated at table; archivist Alison Oswald standing and showing archival materials to Villafana

Inventor Manny Villafana and archivist Alison Oswald.

Alison Oswald

Archivist and Travel to Collections Coordinator
oswalda@si.edu

Alison Oswald is the Archivist for the Lemelson Center. She is responsible for administering the Modern Inventors Documentation (MIND) Program, which documents, interprets, and disseminates information about invention and innovation. Alison processes invention-related collections, including all registration procedures; arranges, describes, and prepares Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACs) compliant finding aids using the Archivists’ Toolkit and cataloging records for the online system, Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS); and performs holdings maintenance and other preservation techniques for collections. She works collaboratively with National Museum of American History curatorial staff to identify and appraise inventor’s papers, records, and artifacts that have particular significance to the research and educational goals of the Museum and Archives Center and encourage donation of those materials.

Alison is a member of the Society of American Archivists and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, and was a co-curator of Doodles, Drafts, and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian, which traveled with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service for five years, 2001-2005. She has a strong interest in arrangement and description, encoded archival description (EAD), access to the primary materials, and mentoring and fostering budding archivists through internships. Alison holds a M.A. of Library Science from the State University of New York at Albany, a M.S., Historic Preservation from Ball State University, and a B.A., History from Saint Bonaventure University. She originally came to the Museum in 1995 as the first Lemelson Archival Intern.

VIEW 2682 Matching Results

Found 2682 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.1081282624907%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.5995525727069%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 2.9828486204325%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.0574198359433%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.2706935123043%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.586129753915%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.2438478747204%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.4675615212528%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.409395973154%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.579418344519%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.4675615212528%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.3557046979866%)
  • Telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications (Relevance: 3.0574198359433%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.2811334824758%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.8538404175988%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.0201342281879%)
❯
Go to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website

About Menu

▼
Open menu
▲
Close menu
  • Explore
    • Women Inventors
    • Blog
    • Invention Stories
    • Places of Invention
    • Beyond Words
  • Study
    • Research Opportunities
    • Archives
    • Lemelson Center Books
    • Lemelson Center Research
    • Symposia & Conferences
  • Try
    • DO Try This at Home!
    • Spark!Lab
    • Spark!Lab Network
    • Encouraging Innovative Thinking
  • About
    • Events
    • Exhibitions
    • News
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Donate
  • Multimedia
  • Tags
  • Surprise Me
  • Search
  • Open Drawer
Copyright 2021, Smithsonian Institution, All Rights Reserved
  • DONATE
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
Twitter Facebook Tumblr Email Print