even' month to this activity. Highlights include a series of 

 articles in the Torch, lectures on aspects of Henry's life, and 

 assistance to Union College (New York) in an exhibition high- 

 lighting the Henry bicentennial. Additionally, Henry Papers 

 Project staff used the bicentennial year to raise awareness 

 among funding agencies of the contributions of Joseph Henry 

 to the development of American science and the creation of a 

 national cultural institution. 



Developing and expanding websites was perhaps the most 

 significant outreach activity in 1997. OSIA's Institutional 

 History Division greatly expanded its web presence, placing 

 online the web version of another 1996 exhibition, "Expedi- 

 tions: 150 Years of Smithsonian Science in Latin America," as 

 well as increasing the amount of available information relat- 

 ing to the history of the Institution. In addition, the Archives 

 Division of OSIA developed and launched a home page, thereby 

 providing access to general information about the Archives, as 

 well as the finding aids to a number of collections. Finally, 

 the National Collections Program and the Joseph Henry 

 Papers staff began work on their home pages with a Fiscal 

 Year 1998 target for completion. 



The Electronic Records Program was created within OSIA 

 in FY 1997 to provide guidance to offices within the Smith- 

 sonian Institution on the proper management of electronic 

 records, including electronic mail. The program will develop 

 procedures for appraising, accessioning, and preserving those 

 electronic records no longer required by creating offices and 

 accepted for transfer by OSIA. The program achieved a major 

 accomplishment during the year with the issuance of Smith- 

 sonian Announcement 97—10. Entitled "E-mail and Record 

 Keeping," the announcement suggests methods for retaining 

 E-mail and identifies who is responsible for ensuring the 

 proper management of these records. 



The ongoing work of OSIA continued apace with these 

 new efforts. This fiscal year saw the Smithsonian Institution 

 Archives and Institutional History Divisions participate in a 

 six-month extensive analysis of archival operations, functions, 

 information and access tools, and services. The review was 

 directed by archivist Scott Schwartz of the Archives Center at 

 NMAH. The final report, Integrating Automation Technology: A 

 Functional Analysis and Needs Assessment for the Office of Smith- 

 sonian Institution Archives, will be used to guide OSIA in iden- 

 tifying and meeting its future automation needs. 



The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) undertook a 

 major project to review and refine its records appraisal 

 criteria. When completed, the draft appraisal report will be 

 the basis for evaluating records and determining the relative 

 priority for accessioning new collections of institutional 

 records, personal papers, and records of non-Smithsonian en- 

 tities. Preservation planning was also a major focus during the 

 year, and the development of increased staff awareness of 

 preservation problems. The discovery of mold in collections 

 housed at both the Arts and Industries Building and the Ful- 

 lerton annex resulted in a special project to contain the 

 damage and remove the mold. Accessibility of archives collec- 



tion information moved forward with the conversion of the 

 1996 Guide to the Smithsonian Archives to an electronic format 

 and the transfer of this information to SIRIS, the Smithson- 

 ian's online public catalog. Despite the many new initiatives 

 undertaken, core archival activities continued. SIA serviced a 

 total of 2,682 reference queries during the year, a ten percent 

 increase over the previous year. In addition, SIA added to its 

 holdings in excess of 658 cubic feet of records, personal papers, 

 and records of non-Smithsonian entities, even though lack of 

 storage space dictated that the Division halt the transfer of 

 any additional records for the period March to September. 



The Institutional History Division (IHD) maintained an 

 active schedule of papers, workshops, and presentations, 

 including participation in conferences at Westminster Uni- 

 versity and the Natural History Museum in London. The 

 Division also began work on a new Si/Latin America database 

 and undertook research on Smithsonian budget history at the 

 request of the Secretary. The Joseph Henry Papers Project 

 staff submitted to press for publication volume 8 oiThe Papers 

 of Joseph Henry. 



Finally, the National Collections Program (NCP) prepared 

 and issued the annual Collections Statistics, deaccession report, 

 and financial disclosure information. In addition, the staff 

 began the complex process of revising Smithsonian Directive 

 600, Collections Management Policy. Involving virtually all 

 components of the collections management community and 

 all museums, this process resulted in a degree of interaction 

 between NCP staff and all collecting units of the Institution. 



Smithsonian Institution Libraries 



Nancy E. Gwinn, Director 



In July Dr. Nancy E. Gwinn began serving as Director of the 

 Smithsonian Institution Libraries, a 17-branch system with 

 more than 1.2 million volumes and facilities in Washington, 

 New York, and the Republic of Panama. She had served as 

 Assistant Director, Collections Management for the Libraries 

 since 1984. 



The Smithsonian Institution Libraries raised private funds 

 this year for its Natural History Rare Book Library, now 

 under construction. Mrs. Jefferson Patterson contributed 

 funds to underwrite for three years the position of Curator of 

 Rare Books for the library, and Leslie Overstreet was named to 

 the position in August. A $100,000 endowment for the preser- 

 vation of the Libraries' collection of rare materials in the field 

 of natural history was established with funds committed by 

 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Cullman 3rd. The new library, being 

 built in the East Court of the National Museum of Natural 

 History, will house some 10,000 books and other library 

 materials in a secure room and stack area with appropriate en- 

 vironmental controls. The Libraries is funding the installation 



— 



