REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 15 



The Annual Report of tlio Boai\l of Refjjents to Congress con- 

 tained the usual General Appendix made up of articles in semipopular 

 style to present the progress in nearly all branches of science during 

 the year. These reports continue in wide demand, and many letters 

 are received expressiiin: appreciation of the Institution's efforts to 

 give the nontechnical reader an authentic survey of the yearly 

 advance along the scientific front. 



SMITHSONIAN SCIENTIFIC SERIES 



As stated in my last report, the Institution decided in 1928 to 

 issue a popular, profusely illustrated series of 12 volumes relating 

 to the several branches of science coming within the scope of its 

 activities, with the expectation that through the sale of this series, 

 increased resources might become available for the furtherance of 

 its scientific work. The sale of the books, known as the Smith- 

 sonian Scientific Series, is entirely in the hands of the New York 

 publishers, the Smithsonian's part being only that of author. 



Volumes one to four appeared in 1929, as follows: 



1. The Sniithsoiiian Institution, by Webster Prentiss True. 



2. The Sun and the Welfare of Man, by Charles Greeley Abbot. 



3. MineraLs from Earth and Sky. Part I, The Story of Meteorites, by George 



P. Morrill ; Part II, Gems and Gem Minerals, by William F. Foshas. 



4. The North American Indians. An account of the American Indians north of 



Mexico, compiled from the original sources, by Rose A. Palmer. 



Volumes five to eight were still in press at the close of the fiscal 

 year, but were expected to be received from the printer very soon 

 thereafter. They are as follows : 



5. Insects: Tlieir Ways and Means of Living, by R. E. Snodgrass. 

 (5. Wild Animals in and out of the Zoo, by William M. Mann. 



7. Man from the Farthest Past, by C. W. Bishop, C. G. Abbot, and A. HrdliCka. 



8. Cold-Blooded Vertebrates, by C. W. Gilmore, D. M. Cochran, and S. F. 



Hildebraiid. 



The remaining four volumes are in press or in an advanced state 

 of preparation, and will be issued during the coming year. 



LIBRARY 



The Smithsonian library is composed of 10 divisional and 3G sec- 

 tional libraries. The divisional libraries include the Smithsonian 

 deposit in the Library of Congress, which is the Institution's main 

 library, the office library, the Langley Aeronautical Library, and the 

 seven libraries of the bureaus under administrative direction of the 

 Institution, the largest of which is the National Museum library. 

 This last includes the 3G sectional libraries, which are the working 

 units kept in the various divisions of the Museum. The whole library 

 immbers over 800,000 volumes, pamphlets, and charts. The year's 

 accessions totaled 14,277 iteuis, of which 7,979 were vohnnes and 0,298 

 were pamphlets and charts. 



