REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



59 



The term " departmental documents " embraces all of the publica- 

 tions delivered at the institution by the various governmental de- 

 partments, bureaus, or commissions for distribution to their corre- 

 spondents abroad, the publications received in return being deposited 

 in the various departmental libraries. 



The " miscellaneous scientific and literary publications " are re- 

 ceived chiefly from learned societies, universities, colleges, scientific 

 institutions, and museums in the United States for transmission to 

 similar establishments in all parts of the world. 



The number and weight of the packages of different classes are 

 indicated in the following table : 





Packages. 



Weight. 





Sent. 



Received. 



Sent. 



Received. 



United States par'iamentary documents sent abroad. . . 



151,307 





Pounds. 

 83,692 



Pounds. 



Pub ications received in return for parliamentary docu- 



1,335 



3 100 



United States departmenta' documents sent abroad 



65, 892 



103, 295 





Pub ications received in return for departmenta! docu- 



3, 918 



2 630 



MisceHaneous scientific and literary pubications sent 



40, 188 



82, 267 





Miscellaneous scientific and literary pubications re- 

 ceived from abroad for distribution in the United 



8,220 



16 934 











Total 



257, 387 



13, 473 



269, 254 



22, 664 









270 sfifi 



291 918 













It should be stated in this connection that the disparity indicated 

 by the foregoing statistics between the number of packages sent and 

 those received is accounted for, in part, by the fact that packages 

 transmitted abroad contain, as a rule, only one publication, while 

 those received in return often comprise many volumes. In some in- 

 stances, especially in the case of publications received in exchange for 

 parliamentary documents, the term " package " is applied to large 

 boxes containing many separate publications. Furthermore, many 

 returns for publications sent abroad reach their destinations through 

 the mail and not through the exchange service. 



Under date of September 12, 1918, the Dutch Exchange Bureau 

 reported that five boxes sent by the institution to that bureau in 

 January, 1917, had been lost at sea when the steamship by which they 

 were being forwarded was torpedoed by the enemy. So far as re- 

 ported, this is the fourth instance in which consignments sent to for- 

 eign countries by the institution have been lost through hostile action. 



It has not yet been possible to put the service on a prewar basis 

 so far as the forwarding of consignments abroad is concerned. Ship- 



