REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 41 



3. Another octavo series, consisting of the annual reports of the 

 Institution to Congress, called "Smithsonian Reports," of which 

 eleven volumes have been published. 



The Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge include memoirs em- 

 bracing the records of extended original investigations and researches 

 resulting in what are believed to be new truths, and constituting 

 positive additions to the sum of human knowledge. 



The series of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections contains reports 

 on the present state of our knowledge of particular branches of 

 science ; instructions for collecting and digesting facts and materials 

 for research ; lists and synopses of species of the organic and inor- 

 ganic world ; museum catalogues ; reports of explorations ; aids to 

 bibliographical investigations, &c, ; generally prepared at the express 

 request of the Institution, and at its expense. 



The Annual Reports include the official reports of the Secretary to 

 the Board of Regents of the operations and condition of the Institu- 

 tion ; the reports of committees of the board ; abstracts of lectures 

 delivered before the Institution; extracts from correspondence; origi- 

 nal or translated articles relating to the history and progress of 

 science, &c. 



The following rules have been observed in the distribution of the 

 first and second series : 



1. They are presented to all learned societies of the first class 

 which publish transactions, and give copies of these, in exchange, 

 to the Institution. 



2. To all foreign libraries of the first class, provided they give in 

 exchange their catalogues and other publications, or an equivalent, 

 from their duplicate volumes. 



3. To all the colleges in actual operation in this country, provided 

 they furnish, in return, meteorological observations, catalogues of 

 their libraries and of their students, and all other publications issued 

 by them relative to their organization and history. 



4. To all States and Territories, provided they give, in return, 

 copies of all documents published under their authority. 



5. To all incorporated public libraries in this country, not included 

 in any of the foregoing classes, now containing 10,000 volumes; and 

 to smaller libraries, where a whole State or large district would be 

 otherwise unsupplied. 



Institutions devoted exclusively to the promotion of particular 

 branches of knowledge receive such articles published by the Insti- 

 tution as relate to their objects. Portions of the series are also given 



