32 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



The total number of boxes required to coutiiiu tlie transmissious for 

 the year amounted to 407, of a gross bulk of more than 2,000 cubic fet^t, 

 and a gross weight of over 100,000 pounds. 



Government Exclianges. — In addition to the regular routine work of 

 the exchange referred to above, the Institution has for several years 

 past prosecuted, under Congressional enactment, an exchange of the 

 publications of the United States Government for those of other nations, 

 the transactions being exclusively between the Government of the United 

 States and those of other countries. For this purpose fifty sets of all 

 publications made at the expense of the United States, whether by or- 

 der of Congress or by a department, are turned over to the Library of 

 Congress for transmission to the Smithsonian Institution, and these are 

 distributed to such nations as give corresponding publications in return. 

 As the amount of material printed by the United States amounts to 

 from 12 to IG cubic feet every year, the aggregate transmissions arc 

 very important, and year by year the returns come in in an increasing 

 proportion. The whole transaction is intended for the benefit of the 

 Library of Congress, so as to secure the of&cial publications of other 

 nations, most of which can only be obtained by this system of exchange. 



There is a curious feature connected with this distribution of public 

 documents, namely, with the exception of two sets which, are reserved 

 by the Library of Congress for its use, there is no provision by which 

 any American library can obtain anything like so complete a series of 

 the official publications as are sent by the Institution to foreign govern- 

 ments connected with the Exchange. It seems very desirable that in- 

 stead of reserving fifty sets only of each government i)ublication, there 

 should be at least one set reserved for the leading library of each State, 

 or, at any rate, for that of the State and Territorial legislatures. 



Eeference has been made in previous reports to the establishment of 

 a governmental system of international exchanges corresponding to 

 that of tlie Smithsonian Institution. i?o important addition to the 

 number of governments mentioned as concerned, has been made during 

 the year 1881, although its extension to all the principal countries is 

 much, to be desired. 



While the Smithsonian Institution has been named as the official 

 agent in this business, its labors would be greatly facilitated if it could 

 communicate directly with corresponding bureaus of other nations, the 

 work, too, would be prosecuted much more satisfactorily. The govern- 

 ments of Kussia and Italy, although not giving a formal adhesion to 

 the system of the Smithsonian Institution, yet in the year 1881 estab- 

 lished bureaus for the practical management of international exchange. 



By the exchange convention of Paris in 1875, it was provided that 

 each party sending should deliver its transmissions free of expense, in 

 the office of the other; but the stipulation, so far as the transoceanic 

 relationships of the United States were concerned, was extremely un- 



