746 HISTORY OF THE SMITHSONIAN EXCHANGES. 



Smithsonian Institution might well be applied in this case, of making 

 as equable a distribution as possible throughout the country, s«j>- 

 plying all larger public libraries, and giving to smaller ones only where 

 a large district would otherwise be destitute. It had always be^n 

 matter of complaint with men pursuing special objects of research that 

 public documents relating to their investigations were frequently inac- 

 cessible. In order to remedy this, some department could be directed 

 to keep full lists of all persons prominently engaged in the various 

 branches of science, and to supply the names on such list regulkrly 

 with extra copies of documents to be furnished by Congress. 



By act of August 18, 1856, the Secretary of State was authorized t» 

 purchase one hundred copies each of Audubon's Birds of America and 

 Quadrupeds of North America, for exchange with foreign governments 

 for valuable works. 



The matter of government exchanges received, however, no furthep 

 definite action until 1867, when the following act was passed : 



A Resolution to provide for the exchange of certain pubUo documents. 



Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 

 in Congress assembled, That fifty copies of all documents hereafter printr 

 ed by order of either House of Congress, and fifty copies additional of 

 all documents printed in excess of the usual number, together with fifty 

 copies of each publication issued by any department or bureau of the 

 government, be placed at the disposal of the Joint Committee on the 

 Library, who shall exchange the same, through the agency of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, for such works published in foreign countries, and 

 especially by foreign governments, as may be deemed by said commitee 

 an equivalent; said works to be deposited in the Library of Congress, 



Approved March 2, 1867. 



A primary object of this movement was to secure as regularly and 

 economically as possible all reports and other documents relative to the 

 legislation, jurisprudence, statistics, internal economy, technology, &c^ 

 of aU nations, so as to place the material at the command of the com- 

 mittees and members of Congress, heads of bureaus, &c. 



No appropriation was made for meeting the necessary expenses, which 

 could not conveniently be borne by the Smithsonian fund. But as ^a 

 year would necessarily elapse before any documents would be ready for 

 distribution, the following circular was issued by the Institution, with a 

 view of ascertaining what governments would enter into the proposed 

 arrangement : 



CrBOUIvAE RELATIVE TO EXCHANGES OF GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS. 



Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington, U. S. A., May 16, 1867. 

 A law has just been passed by the Congress of the United States aur 

 thorizing the exchange, under direction of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 of a certain number of aU United States ofiBcial documents for the cor- 



