Report on the International Exchange 



Service 



Sm : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activ- 

 ities of the International Exchange Service for the fiscal year ended 

 June 30, 1956 : 



The Smithsonian Institution is the official United States agency for 

 the exchange with other nations of governmental, scientific, and lit- 

 erary publications. The International Exchange Service, initiated 

 by the Smithsonian Institution in the early years of its existence for 

 the interchange of scientific publications between learned societies and 

 individuals in the United States and those of foreign countries, serves 

 as a means of developing and executing in part the broad and compre- 

 hensive objective, "the diffusion of knowledge." It was later desig- 

 nated by tlie United States Government as the agency for the trans- 

 mission of official documents to selected depositories throughout the 

 world, and it continues to execute the exchanges pursuant to conven- 

 tions, treaties, and other international agreements. 



The nmnber of packages of publications received for transmission 

 during the year increased by 126,463 to the yearly total of 1,146,972, 

 and the weight of the packages increased by 15,640 to 812,960 pounds. 

 The average weight of the individual package decreased to 11.34 

 ounces, as compared to the 12.49-ounce average for the fiscal year 1954. 



The total weight of the foreign packages is higher than that received 

 in any year since 1939. The 63 cases received from the National 

 Central Library, Taipei, Taiwan, China, partially accounts for the 

 increase. This is the first shipment from China since the one received 

 from the National Central Library (then at Nanking) in 1949. 



The publications received from foreign sources for addresses in the 

 United States and from domestic sources for shipment abroad are 

 classified as shown in the following table : 



136 



