Research Library Staff

Ariel Hammond, Research Library Director

Ariel (Arie) Hammond is an information scientist with a background in digital libraries, archives, and rare books. A San Diego native with a passion for conservation and biodiversity, Arie specializes in information behaviors and technologies. Arie joined The Nat in September 2021 and plans to focus on digitizing resources and diversifying audiences (learn more).

Arie has worked and volunteered at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library, assisted with environmental children’s libraries in Vietnam through WildAct, and served on the technology committee of Wildlife Insights. She focuses on digital libraries, digitization and data, and created the Camera Trap Technology Symposium at Google headquarters. Educated at the University of California, San Diego and Rutgers, Arie has published articles on informal information behaviors and the adoption of new technologies to manage institutional information.

Arie cares for the objects in our Research Library, which has three primary archives: a main library of some 56,000 volumes on natural history topics; a comprehensive archive of historical records, original field notes, and correspondence from the early days of the Museum; and a special collection of rare, antiquarian books and maps as well as an extensive collection of fine art on natural history subjects.

Staff

Melissa Behar, Book Conservator

Departmental Associates

Carol Barsi, Librarian Emeritus
Margi Dykens, Librarian/Curator Emeritus
Reed Pierce
Penny Ward

Volunteers

We welcome applications for interns and volunteers. Please complete a volunteer application.

Rare Book Conservation

Book Conservator Melissa Behar works to preserve our rare books. Here she is shown working on re-constructing one of the large volumes of Flora Londinensis from 1777.