13'2 REPORT ON EXCHANGES. 



obligation to exchange other than official parliamentary and adminis- 

 trative documents, and works executed by order of, and at the expense 

 of, the contracting states. I invite particular attention to this docu- 

 ment, which is given in full in the protocols of the conference. 



The Austrian delegate, Mr. de Dechy, maintained that the convention 

 of 1880 would not affect the exchange between the literary and scien- 

 tific societies. 



Mr. Charmes, the French delegate, maintained that while the ex- 

 change of official publications should be rendered obligatory, the bu- 

 reaus should also be allowed to act as the friendly agents for effecting 

 exchanges between the learned scientific and literary societies of the 

 different countries. 



The president agreed with Mr. Charmes, and this appeared to be the 

 sense of the conference. Mr. Alvin, one of the Belgian delegation, the 

 venerable head of the Eoyal Library of Brussels, explained his expe- 

 rience of the working of the exchanges. As the Eoyal Library is the 

 regularly appointed agent of the Smithsonian Institution, his remarks 

 have a special interest. He mentioned a newly created readiug-room 

 for periodical literature, attached to the library, where 1,100 or 1,200 

 publications are accessible to the public. (I regret to say that those 

 of the United States are conspicuous by their almost total absence.) 



Mr. Alvin expressed the hope that similar readiug-rooms might be 

 established in all the great centers of population and that the exchanges 

 would greatly benefit them. 



The discussion of Article 1 was then begun. Mr. Charmes (France) 

 said that Article 1 prescribed the establishment of bureaus of exchange 

 in each contracting state, but until now it has not been -carried into 

 effect. 



The president called attention to the fact that until now there was 

 no obligation, and suggested that we should cursorily examine the con- 

 dition of affairs in the respective countries. Mr. Alvin said that bureaus 

 had been established in France, in Bussia, in Italy, and in Spain. 



Mr. de Villeneuve (Brazil) said that in Brazil there was a bureau. 



Mr. Alvin said that in the United States there was the Smithsonian 

 Institution, but- that as it was not an official bureau it did not fully 

 answer the ends that the conference sought, 



Mr. Vacaresco ( Ron mania) said that in Boumania there was no 

 bureau, and he could not guarantee the establishment of one until the 

 ratification of the convention. 



I said that in the United States the Smithsonian Institution had un- 

 dertaken the exchanges of Government publications ; that as to the 

 other publications it was sometimes difficult to obtain them from the 

 societies, but that the Institution willingly undertook to send them at 

 the request of the learned societies. 



That Congress had placed 50 copies of the official publications at the 



