Tom D. Crouch, Smithsonian curator emeritus and author of Smithson’s Gamble: The Smithsonian Institution in American Life, 1836-1906, presents a virtual discussion at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 by the Ocean County Library. He will discuss the growth and development of the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum and research complex, during its first 60 years.

Smithson’s Gamble reveals how the Smithsonian helped to shape the nation’s developing identity.