Report on the 

 International Exchange Service 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activities 

 of the International Exchange Service for the fiscal year ended June 

 30, 1963 : 



The original plan of organization of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 presented to the Board of Kegents by Joseph Henry in 1847, provided 

 for a system of exchange of current Smithsonian publications which 

 would afford the Smithsonian Institution the most ready means of en- 

 tering into friendly relations and correspondence with all the learned 

 societies in the world and of enricliing the Smithsonian Library with 

 the current transactions and proceedings of foreign institutions. 



Wlien the first of the Smithsonian's long series of scientific publica- 

 tions was published, copies were sent to scientific and learned mstitu- 

 tions in foreign countries. In return, the Smithsonian Institution 

 received many valuable publications from foreign institutions. To 

 continue this desirable international exchange of scientific informa- 

 tion, the Smithsonian Institution appointed agents in a number of 

 foreign countries to distribute the Smithsonian publications. In re- 

 turn, these agents received publications from foreign organizations 

 which were forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution. 



In 1851 the privilege of transmitting publications through the 

 Smithsonian Institution to other countries, and to receive in return 

 publications from foreign institutions, was offered to governmental 

 agencies, learned societies, and individuals in the United States. This 

 opportunity for wide distribution of scientific publications was eagerly 

 grasped and the system grew rapidly. Thus began a Smithsonian 

 service that has increased steadily in usefulness, and the quantity of 

 material handled has increased from a few hundred packages of pub- 

 lications transmitted in 1849 to more than a million packages during 

 the last fiscal year. 



In 1867 Congress provided that copies of all documents thereafter 

 printed by order of either House be placed at the disposal of the Joint 

 Committee on the Library to be exchanged through the agency of 

 the Smithsonian Institution. This was the first official recognition 

 of the Smithsonian exchange system. In 1875 there began a series of 

 international meetings which led to the adoption, in 1886, of the Brus- 

 sels Convention for the international exchange of literary and scientific 



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