Postal Collections Go Online
Roll Call Staff
National Postal Museum guests will soon be able to wind their way through the institution in a new wardrobe: their pajamas.
The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum is set to launch Arago, a research Web site, on Saturday, allowing philatelists to enjoy the museum’s vast collection from home.
“Arago is the next generation of the online museum experiences,” said Ted Wilson, the museum’s registrar. “By combining the museum’s vast collections database with innovative online storytelling tolls, users can browse through thousands of objects while exploring the fascinating history of stamps and the vital role of the post office in our lives.”
The Web site will be launched during Washington 2006, a week-long event, expected to draw 100,000 stamp collectors to the Washington D.C. Convention Center.
The first phase of Arago will include 6,000 objects, with the 25,000-object collection expected to be completed in five years. Because of the Web site’s more detailed descriptions of objects, it will take a while to get everything onto Arago, said Allison Gallaway, the National Postal Museum’s public affairs officer.
The site will include images of outside collections in addition to the Smithsonian’s holdings. Visitors also will have access to online exhibits and storytelling about the history of artifacts.
Arago is named for 19th century scientist Dominique François Jean Arago, a close friend of James Smithson. An avid photographer, Arago believed in educating people though advanced technology.
Home of nearly six million objects, the National Postal Museum offers philately — the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks and related materials — and history buffs the opportunity to see how mail has evolved over the years.
The museum opened in 1993 and had more than 550,000 visitors last year. It has seen visitor increases of up to 40 percent so far this year.
The database’s address is www.arago.si.edu, and the National Postal Museum’s site is www.postalmuseum.si.edu.
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