The Zug Family Amphibian and Reptile Endowment was established in 2008 by Dr. George Zug, emeritus Research Zoologist with the National Museum of Natural History, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles. With this endowment, the Libraries’ annual subscriptions to periodicals devoted to biology, evolution, and systematics of amphibians and reptiles held generally in the Libraries’ zoology branch with be expanded and supported for Smithsonian researchers and visitors.
In 1964, Dr. James Peters inaugurated the Smithsonian Herpetological Information Services (SHIS) which distributed material to herpetological labs and individual herpetologists. Dr. Zug continued Dr. Peters’ efforts with SHIS by collaborating with various herpetological societies that fostered exchanges of uncommon periodicals that were largely unavailable in academic libraries.
“Over my career at the Smithsonian, and especially during the past decade and a half, many new herpetological periodicals have appeared but the inflationary shrinkage of the …budget has prevented us from subscribing to these and most have not been available for exchange,” says Dr. Zug. Dr. Zug’s gift will help cultivate scholastic growth and opportunities for the Smithsonian research community for years to come.
