The Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room at the American Academy in Rome.
A jewel at the American Academy in Rome is the Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room which houses 35,000 volumes of books dating from the early sixteenth century covering the fields of Classical studies and the history of art and architecture. This room was designed by Michael Graves (FAAR-'60) with technology on book preservation and conservation supplied by Barbara Goldsmith. The room has no noxious substances whatsoever and consists of floors of carrara and marble and cabinets of pear wood. Even the unpolished steel hinges on the cabinets have been designed by Graves to open 120 degrees so no books are scuffed coming out of the shelves. All the bookends are covered in acid-free permanent linen and book boxes are provided for the most fragile papers. There is a restoration and conservation division that works constantly to keep the American Academy's illustrious rare books in good condition.
The Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room serves as a pilot project for both European and American scholars who come from many venues to see the construction and techniques used therein. It is patterned on the Brooke Russell Astor Room at the New York Public Library and was supervised by Christina Pugliese, who also supervised construction of the Astor project. Graves's scrupulous design and Goldsmith's international knowledge of paper preservation and conservation have made the Barbara Goldsmith Rare Book Room a indispensable part of the American Academy.
