The William Steinway Diary Project

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is engaged in a long-term project to create the first publicly accessible, annotated online edition of William Steinway's Diary. Pending further funding, thousands of additional annotations will be added to provide crucial context for understanding William's sometimes obscure entries. Annotations will be based upon more than 25,000 hours of research conducted by upwards of 100 highly qualified volunteers, including Diary donor Henry Ziegler Steinway, a central figure in the Diary Project until his death in 2008.The Diary Project is one of the Smithsonian's largest and longest-running volunteer research efforts.

The William Steinway Diary Project was begun as a joint effort between the National Museum of American History's Archives Center, wherein the Diary resides, and the Division of Culture and the Arts. Together, they collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution Libraries to begin creating an online edition of William Steinway's 2,500-page diary. With the assistance of the Smithsonian's Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Diary Project engaged Quotient, Inc. to help bring the project to fruition.