The
"Treasures of the Library" album and collection has
been developed to share images from rare and unusual books that reside
within the NOAA Central Library. These books and images have been
waiting like a buried treasure to be discovered and put on display
for the world to see.
Within
the 1,000,000 or so documents that reside in the NOAA Central Library
are tens of thousands of jewels produced prior to the early Twentieth
Century. The oldest of these is a translation of a treatise written
by Hippocrates on the effect of climate on health printed in Latin
in 1485. Many other early tomes concerned with observations of the
natural world, scientific instruments, and scientific concepts have
survived the ravages of the centuries and now reside within the
Special Collections of the NOAA Central Library.
Through
these documents, much of the early evolution of scientific and geographic
knowledge of our atmosphere, oceans, and the remote areas of our
planet can be traced. Words, thoughts, and deeds of scientists,
surveyors, mapmakers, and explorers have been immortalized through
the printed book. Within some of these documents, images of their
work, observations, and concepts survive as engraved plates, woodcut
images, or, in approaching the Twentieth Century, as photographic
plates. However, only a lucky few scholars of the history of science
ever see these images; fewer still scientists ever have the opportunity
to study and learn from such images of the work of their early predecessors;
and virtually no members of the general public ever have the opportunity
to see such images as exist in these early works. Now all, including
scientists, teachers, students, and all who enjoy learning from
the past will have the opportunity to see and learn from these treasures.
Come
dig up this treasure trove with NOAA! Visit "The Treasures of the
NOAA Central Library."
