170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1956 



impractical, to the foreign addressees by direct mail. Distribution in 

 the United States of the publications received through the foreign ex- 

 change bureaus is accomplished primarily by mail, but by other means 

 when more economical. The number of boxes shipped to the foreign 

 exchange bureaus was 3,064, or 228 more than for the previous year. Of 

 these boxes 986 were for depositories of full sets of United States 

 Government documents, these publications being furnished in exchange 

 for the official publications of foreign governments which are received 

 for deposit in the Library of Congress. The number of packages for- 

 warded by mail and by means other than freight was 228,394. 



There was allocated to the International Exchange Service for 

 transportation $45,040. With this amount it was possible to effect the 

 shipment of 837,188 pounds, which was 37,188 pounds more than was 

 shipped the previous year. However, approximately 11,000 pounds of 

 the full sets of United States Government documents accumulated 

 during the year because the Library of Congress had requested suspen- 

 sion of shipment to certain foreign depositories. 



Ocean freight rates to the Mediterranean ports were increased by 

 10 percent in June and the freight rates to and from the New York 

 piers were increased by a 10-cent arbitrary in April. 



The total outgoing correspondence was 2,497 letters, exclusive of 

 information copies. 



With the exception of Taiwan, no shipments are being made to 

 China, North Korea, Outer Mongolia, Communist-controlled area of 

 Viet-Nam, Communist-controlled area of Laos, or the Haiphong En- 

 clave. 



On May 14 the International Exchange Service received from the 

 East German Exchange Service a shipment of 179 packages. This was 

 the first shipment received from East Germany since 1939. On June 7 

 an announcement was received that another shipment containing 181 

 packages was in transit. 



With certain exceptions the regulations of the Bureau of Foreign 

 Commerce, Department of Commerce, provide that each package of 

 publications exported bear a general license symbol and legend, "Ex- 

 port License Not Kequired." The International Exchange Service 

 accepts for transmission to foreign destinations only those packages 

 of publications that fall within the exception and those packages of 

 publications to which the general license symbol and legend have been 

 applied by the consignor. 



FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS 



The number of sets of United States official publications received 

 by the Exchange Service for transmission abroad in return for the offi- 

 cial publications sent by foreign governments for deposit in the Library 



