REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 7 



way, rendered assistance. The Miscellaneous Collections are composed 

 of works intended to facilitate the study of branches of natural history, 

 meteorology, &c, and are designed especially to induce individuals to 

 engage in these studies as specialties. The Annual Reports, besides an 

 account of the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institu- 

 tion, contain translations from works not generally accessible to Amer- 

 ican students, reports of lectures, extracts from correspondence, &c. 



The following are the rules which have been adopted for the distribu- 

 tion of the several publications of the Institution: 



1st. They are presented to learned societies of the first class which in 

 return give complete series of their publications to the Institution. 



2d. To libraries of the first class which give in exchange their cata- 

 logues and other publications, or an equivalent from their duplicate 

 volumes. 



3d. To colleges of the first class which furnish catalogues of their 

 libraries and of their students, and all other publications relative to 

 their organization and history. 



4th. To States and Territories, provided they give in return copies of 

 all documents published under their authority. 



5th. To imblic libraries in this country, containing 15,000 volumes, 

 especially if no other copies are given in the same place ; and to smaller 

 libraries where a large district would be otherwise unsupplied. 



6th. To institutions devoted exclusively to the promotion of particu- 

 lar branches of knowledge are given such Smithsonian publications as 

 relate to their respective objects. • 



7th. The Annual Reports are presented to the meteorological ob- 

 servers, to contributors of valuable material to the'library or collections, 

 and to persons engaged in special scientific research. 



The distribution of the publications of the Institution is a matter 

 which requires much care and judicious selection, the great object being 

 to make known to the world the truths which may result from the ex- 

 penditure of the Smithson fund. For this purpose the principal class 

 of publications, namely, the Contributions, must be so distributed as to 

 be accessible to the greatest number of readers, and this will evidently 

 be to large central libraries. 



The volumes of Contributions are presented on the express condition 

 that, while they are carefully preserved, they shall be accessible at all 

 times to students and others who may desire to consult them, and be 

 returned to the Institution in case the establishments to which they are 

 presented at any time cease to exist. These works, it must be recol- 

 lected, are not of a popular character, but require profound study to 

 fully understand them; they are, however, of importance to the pro- 

 fessional teacher and the popular expounder of science. They contain 

 materials from which general treatises on special subjects may be elabo- 

 rated. 



