12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1948 
effects of tropical conditions on photographic materials and equip- 
ment, and studies of deterioration in the Tropics of fabrics, foodstuffs, 
and other materials. The most urgent needs of the laboratory are a 
more adequate supply of electricity, an enlarged library building, and 
new water-storage tanks. The water-supply problem became so serious 
that preliminary work has already been done on the site of a new 
tank in the hope that the project may be completed next year. 
PUBLICATIONS 
The Institution’s publications constitute a principal means of carry- 
ing out the “diffusion of knowledge” stipulated by the founder, James 
Smithson. Starting with a single series in 1848, this important phase 
of Smithsonian work has expanded with the growth of the Institu- 
tion until today its publications appear in 14 separate series, as 
follows: 
Smithsonian Institution: Annual Report; Miscellaneous Collections; Special 
Publications. 
United States National Museum: Annual Report; Bulletin; Proceedings; 
Contributions from the National Herbarium. 
Bureau of American Ethnology : Annual Report ; Bulletin. 
Astrophysical Observatory: Annals. 
National Collection of Fine Arts: Catalog. 
Freer Gallery of Art: Oriental Studies ; Occasional Papers. 
Institute of Social Anthropology : Publications. 
These various series present the scientific findings of staff members 
and collaborators of the Institution, as well as of outside scientists 
working on its collections. 
During the year, a total of 76 volumes and pamphlets were pub- 
lished. Among the year’s outstanding publications may be mentioned 
a new member of the Institution’s family of tables—“Smithsonian 
Elliptic Functions Tables,” by G. W. and R. M. Spenceley; a Spanish 
edition of the “Compendio y descripcién de las Indias Occidentales,” 
by Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa, transcribed by Charles Upson Clark, 
which had been published by the Institution in English translation 
several years ago; “A List and Index of the Publications of the United 
States National Museum (1875-1946)”’; volumes 3 and 4 of the “Hand- 
book of South American Indians” (volumes 5 and 6, the last two 
volumes, were in press at the close of the year). 
A total of 165,740 copies of publications in all series were distributed 
during the year. A complete list of the year’s publications will be 
found in Appendix 12. 
LIBRARY 
The Smithsonian library received during the year 53,129 publica- 
tions, mainly in those fields of science and art with which the Institu- 
