﻿82 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1927 
  

  

  this 
  office 
  is 
  aware, 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  not 
  published, 
  althougli 
  it 
  contains 
  

   much 
  valuable 
  information 
  concerning 
  the 
  exchange 
  service 
  in 
  gen- 
  

   eral, 
  giving 
  special 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  Italian 
  exchanges. 
  

  

  The 
  officials 
  of 
  many 
  other 
  exchange 
  bureaus 
  likewise 
  are 
  render- 
  

   ing 
  great 
  service 
  to 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  science 
  and 
  learning 
  through 
  their 
  

   long 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  exchange 
  service 
  and 
  their 
  devotion 
  to 
  the 
  

   work 
  of 
  the 
  diffusion 
  of 
  knowledge 
  among 
  men. 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution 
  can 
  not 
  undertake 
  to 
  obtain 
  

   copies 
  of 
  all 
  publications 
  desired 
  by 
  the 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  correspond- 
  

   ents 
  making 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  service, 
  it 
  endeavors 
  to 
  meet 
  these 
  requests 
  as 
  

   far 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  practicable. 
  It 
  is 
  desirable, 
  however, 
  that 
  correspondents 
  

   themselves 
  take 
  steps 
  to 
  make 
  application 
  for 
  publications 
  they 
  desire 
  

   whenever 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  do 
  so. 
  Among 
  the 
  requests 
  made 
  during 
  

   the 
  year 
  for 
  assistance 
  in 
  obtaining 
  books 
  was 
  one 
  received 
  through 
  

   the 
  Austrian 
  Exchange 
  Agency 
  from 
  the 
  botanical 
  department 
  of 
  the 
  

   Natural 
  History 
  Museum 
  in 
  Vienna 
  for 
  certain 
  American 
  publica- 
  

   tions 
  bearing 
  on 
  botany. 
  The 
  Institution 
  brought 
  the 
  request 
  to 
  the 
  

   attention 
  of 
  the 
  proper 
  organizations, 
  and 
  although 
  only 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   publications 
  desired 
  were 
  received, 
  the 
  director 
  of 
  the 
  botanical 
  

   department 
  expressed 
  his 
  great 
  appreciation 
  of 
  the 
  action 
  taken 
  

   by 
  the 
  Institution 
  in 
  the 
  matter. 
  

  

  The 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  boxes 
  required 
  in 
  dispatching 
  exchange 
  con- 
  

   signments 
  abroad 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  was 
  2,608, 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  87 
  over 
  

   the 
  number 
  for 
  the 
  preceding 
  year. 
  

  

  Prior 
  to 
  1926 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  practice 
  of 
  the 
  Institution 
  to 
  forward 
  the 
  

   full 
  series 
  of 
  official 
  documents 
  to 
  depositories 
  at 
  quarterly 
  intervals. 
  

   In 
  April 
  of 
  that 
  j^ear 
  that 
  practice 
  was 
  discontinued, 
  and 
  shipments 
  

   to 
  the 
  depositories 
  have 
  since 
  been 
  made 
  about 
  once 
  a 
  month. 
  This 
  

   change, 
  as 
  was 
  stated 
  in 
  my 
  last 
  report, 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  comply 
  

   with 
  the 
  request 
  of 
  several 
  depositories 
  that 
  steps 
  be 
  taken 
  to 
  have 
  

   the 
  publications 
  forming 
  the 
  regular 
  series 
  of 
  governmental 
  docu- 
  

   ments 
  delivered 
  more 
  promptly, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  information 
  contained 
  

   therein 
  would 
  be 
  available 
  for 
  use 
  as 
  shortly 
  after 
  publication 
  as 
  

   practicable. 
  These 
  frequent 
  shipments 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  

   230 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  boxes 
  sent 
  to 
  the 
  depositories 
  — 
  619 
  in 
  1927 
  as 
  

   compared 
  with 
  389 
  in 
  1926. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  the 
  usual 
  custom 
  of 
  the 
  Institution 
  to 
  send 
  exchange 
  packages 
  

   to 
  foreign 
  distributing 
  agencies 
  in 
  boxes 
  by 
  freight. 
  However, 
  in 
  

   cases 
  where 
  the 
  packages 
  that 
  accumulate 
  for 
  a 
  particular 
  country 
  

   are 
  not 
  of 
  sufficient 
  bulk 
  to 
  warrant 
  their 
  transmission 
  in 
  that 
  man- 
  

   ner, 
  they 
  are 
  mailed 
  directly 
  to 
  their 
  destinations 
  without 
  passing 
  

   through 
  the 
  foreign 
  agencies. 
  Packages 
  bearing 
  addresses 
  in 
  re- 
  

   mote 
  places 
  which 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  reached 
  through 
  existing 
  exchange 
  

   bureaus 
  also 
  are 
  forwarded 
  by 
  mail. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  packages 
  

   mailed 
  in 
  1927 
  was 
  62,432 
  — 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  13,345 
  over 
  the 
  number 
  

  

  