PEOCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS. 129 



DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS ISSUED UNDER 



THE INSTITUTION. 



" In a message to Congress, dated February 5, 1912, the President 

 transmits tliree reports from the Commission on Econom}^ and Effi- 

 cienc}^, one of which relates to ' The centralization of the distribution 

 of Government publications.' On this subject the President remarks 

 as follows: 



The first report recommends that the work of distributing documents be cen- 

 tralized in the office of Superintendent of Public Documents in the Government 

 Printing Office as a substitute for the present method of distribution by each 

 of the departments, offices, and bureaus issuing documents. The plan does not 

 contemplate any change in the authority which determines the persons to whom 

 documents shall be sent, but only that the physical work of wrapping, address- 

 ing, and mailing the documents shall bo done at one place, and that the place 

 of manufacture. 



Documents are now printed and bound at the Printing Office and conveyed to 

 the several departments and bureaus, where they are wrapped and addressed and 

 sent to the post office, and afterwards from the post office to the railroad station, 

 which is near the Printing Office. One result of the proposed plan will be to 

 eliminate this unnecessary transportation of the large number of documents 

 annually issued by the departments. Departments will be relieved of the 

 trouble and expense of handling, storing, and accounting for documents; a bet- 

 ter control can be exercised over the number of copies of a document to be 

 printed at one time, or, when printed, the number to be bound from time to 

 time; and the accumulation of undistributed copies of the same documents in 

 several offices will be avoided. 



The centralization of the work of wrapping and addressing documents will 

 permit the use of the most improved mechanical devices and a saving of labor 

 that is not possible when the work is done in many offices. 



I approve this recommendation of the commission and commend it to the 

 favorable consideration of the Congress. 



" It is considered that the Institution is itself better prepared to at- 

 tend directly to the distribution of its publications in the interest of 

 the trusts confided to the Regents than through any outside agency. 

 The publications of the Institution are not an incidental result of its 

 work, but something planned for and systematicall}- executed. The 

 Institution keeps in touch with all the principal scientific and art 

 establishments of the world, and with all experts in science and art 

 who are promoting work in a line with its own, or who are in posi- 

 tions to help in securing collections, information, or advice. With the 

 exception of certain public libraries, its mailing lists are, therefore, 

 (mdergoing constant changes. The publications constitute an im- 

 portant asset, and through their judicious distribution have brought 

 returns which could not have been obtained in any other way. 



" Furthermore, a large proportion of the publications bear a date 

 of issuance and must be mailed by or on that date to retain their 

 value. They are received from the Printing Office from two to three 



