138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1954 



The packages of publications are forwarded to the exchange 

 bureaus of foreign countries by freight or, where shipment by such 

 means is impractical, to the foreign addressees by direct mail. Dis- 

 tribution in the United States of the publications received from 

 foreign exchange bureaus is accomplished primarily by mail, but by 

 other means when more economical. The number of boxes shipped to 

 the foreign exchange bureaus was 3,566 or 917 more than for the 

 previous year. Of these boxes 942 were for depositories of full sets of 

 United States Government documents, these publications being fur- 

 nished in exchange for the official publications of foreign governments 

 which are received for deposit in the Library of Congress. The 

 number of packages forwarded by mail and by means other than 

 freight was 209,865. 



There was allocated to the International Exchange Service for 

 transportation $49,600. "With this amount it was possible to effect 

 the transportation of 924,018 pounds. This figure represents 126,698 

 pounds over the weight of the publications received during the year 

 and comprised publications that could not be shipped in the previous 

 fiscal year owing to lack of funds. 



Slight increases occurred in both freight and postal rates during 

 the year. 



Total outgoing correspondence was 2,454 letters, exclusive of infor- 

 mation copies. 



No shipments are being made to China, North Korea, or Rumania. 

 Publications intended for addresses in Formosa and formerly sent 

 through the Chinese Exchange Bureau at Nanking are now forwarded 

 by direct mail. 



Regulations of the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, Department of 

 Commerce, provide that each package of publications exported bear 

 a general license symbol and a legend, "Export License Not Required,'' 

 and the International Exchange Service accepts for transmission to 

 foreign destinations only those packages of publications to which 

 the general license symbol and legend have been applied by the 

 consignor. 



FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS 



The niunber of sets of United States official publications received 

 by the Exchange Service for transmission abroad in return for the 

 official publications sent by foreign governments for deposit in the 

 Library of Congress is now 105 (62 full and 43 partial sets), listed 

 below. Changes that occurred during the year are shown in the 

 footnotes. 



