APPENDIX 6 

 Report on the International Exchange Service 



Sir : I licave the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 

 ties of the International Exchange Service for the fiscal year ended 

 June 30, 1951 : 



The Smithsonian Institution is the official United States agency 

 for the excliange with other nations of governmental, scientific, and 

 literary 2:)ublications. The International Exchange Service, initiated 

 by the Smithsonian Institution in the early years of its existence for 

 the interchange of scientific publications between learned societies 

 and individuals in the United States and those of foreign countries, 

 serves as a means of developing and executing in part the broad 

 and comprehensive objective, "the diffusion of knowledge." It was 

 later designated by the United States Government as the agency for 

 the transmission of official documents to selected depositories through- 

 out the world, and it continues to execute the exchanges pursuant 

 to conventions, treaties, and other international agreements. 



Although the weight of the packages received for transmission 

 during the year decreased by 43,314 pounds to the total of 788,773 

 pounds, the number of packages increased by 1,375 to the total of 

 1,011,000 — the greatest number of packages received during any year 

 of the existence of the International Exchange Service. 



The average weight of the individual package decreased to 12.46 

 ounces, approximately the same as the 13-ounce average of 1950. The 

 majority of the publications now being transmitted are current pub- 

 lications rather than large lots of accumulated publications. The 

 publications received from both the foreign and domestic sources for 

 shipment are classified as shown in the following table : 



96 



