REPORT OE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1924 17 



S. Wyer, was reprinted. This second reprint, like the first, was 

 rendered possible through financial assistance obtained by the author. 



Several publications, while published from the private funds of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, have direct bearing on the Museum, 

 namely, the " Report on cooperative educational and research 

 work carried on by the Smithsonian Institution and its branches," 

 by George P. Merrill (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 

 76, No. 4) ; " Explorations and field-work of the Smithsonian 

 Institution in 1923 " (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 76, 

 No. 10) ; and " The department of geology of the United States Na- 

 tional Museum — Illustrated handbook," by George P. Merrill. The 

 last was originally prepared and printed under the first part of the 

 title in the Smithsonian Annual Report for 1921. It was reprinted 

 this year with the added title of " Illustrated handbook " and is sold 

 by the Institution in the geological exhibition halls of the Museum. 

 The sale in the Museum Building of a guide book to the collections 

 is an innovation, but one which has proved well worth while. Re- 

 searches based wholly or in part on National Museum collections 

 also resulted in publications issued by other bureaus of the Govern- 

 ment and by outside concerns, all of which are cited in the list on 

 page 187 of this report. 



The distribution of the Museum volumes and separates to li- 

 braries and individuals on the regular mailing lists, aggregated 

 55,084 copies, and in addition 23,650 copies were sent out in re- 

 sponse to special requests. Among the latter were 10,000 copies of 

 the reprint of Mr. Wyer's paper sent to teachers of home economics 

 throughout the country. The reserve stock of the older Museum 

 publications is gradually being placed where it can be of greater 

 service. The number of papers distributed by the Museum during 

 the year exceeded the number printed during that period by nearly 

 1,000 ; such is the present economy of Museum printing. 



The editorial office, besides supervising the printing of the 

 Museum publications, has charge also of all miscellaneous printing 

 and binding. The making of descriptive labels for the various halls, 

 cases, groups, and individual specimens, is no small part of the work. 

 Over 250,000 labels, representing nearly 1,100 forms, were printed 

 during the year. 



LIBEARY 



The number of books that the Museum can purchase with its 

 small book appropriation is dwindling each year, with the ever- 

 increasing cost of paper, printing, and other items entering into 

 book making. The Museum is correspondingly more and more de- 

 pendent upon donations and exchanges in building up its library, so 



