and generally monitors developments in the law for applica- 

 tion to the Smithsonian programs. 



Office of Communications 



David J. Umansky 



The Office of Communications is responsible for the public 

 face of the Institution. Its Office of Public Affairs (OPA) is 

 dedicated to media relations, publications, and public relations. 

 The Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center 

 (VIARC) serves the 28 million people who visit the Smithsonian 

 each year. 



Office of Public Affairs 



OPA served as the public relations team for the popular 150th 

 anniversary traveling exhibition "America's Smithsonian." 

 During this fiscal year, the exhibition visited St. Paul, Minn.; 

 Houston, Texas', and Portland, Ore. For each city, a full adver- 

 tising, marketing, and publicity campaign was designed and 

 implemented. When the exhibition reached Birmingham, 

 Ala., in April 1997, OPA handled the transition of the project 

 to the contractor in charge of the exhibition. OPA's work on 

 "America's Smithsonian" and other I50th-anmversary projects 

 earned the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence from the Public 

 Relations Society of America. 



OPA developed a local and national publicity campaign for 

 the 1997 Festival of American Folklife, which featured par- 

 ticipants from the Mississippi Delta. Media coverage included 

 network and local morning shows, a number of articles in the 

 Washington Post, and coverage in the New York Times. U.S.A. 

 Today, the Baltimore Sun, Washingtonian and Southern Living. 



Among the many projects designed to reach Latinos in the 

 metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and across the nation, 

 OPA represented the Smithsonian at local and national 

 Hispanic events such as the annual U.S. Hispanic Chamber 

 of Commerce conference; began a partnership with the 

 Bravo Group, a national Hispanic Marketing firm; and 

 created target bilingual publicity campaigns for a number 

 of exhibitions. 



OPA produced a new brochure this year, the fourth in its 

 series of Resources brochures, called "Asian Pacific American 

 Resources at the Smithsonian." The 32-page brochure, in- 

 tended for teachers, students, researchers, and others, provides 

 information on research resources, including collections, 

 databases, publications, fellowships, internships, and much 

 more. 



Four issues of the newsletter "Smithsonian Institution Re- 

 search Reports" were issued to inform members of Congress, 

 scholars, scientists, library-users, and approximately 75,000 

 Contributing Members about the myriad research efforts 

 around the Smithsonian. 



The employee newspaper, The Torch, kept staff and volun- 

 teers informed about activities around the Institution. A 

 special 20-page issue in January was a tribute to the many 

 volunteers who serve the Smithsonian. The Blue Bulletin con- 

 tinued to provide staff with administrative news items. 



OPA staff, in conjunction with Smithsonian Institution 

 Press, prepared a special thematic annual report focusing on 

 the 150th anniversary and all of its related activities and 

 programs. For the first time, color illustrations were used 

 throughout most of the report. 



Newspaper and radio advertisements wete developed for 

 each city during the run of "America's Smithsonian" to bring 

 visitors into the convention centers hosting the exhibition. 

 Advertising in the Washington, D.C., area included the 

 monthly Sampler ad in the Weekend section of the Washington 

 Post and a number of annual advertising campaigns in both 

 African American and Latino communities. Washington Post 

 Weekend ads also helped launch che Institution's credit card 

 with NOVUS Services, Inc. 



Visitor Information and Associates' 

 Reception Center 



Mary Grace Potter. Director 



As a central support organization and the principal contact 

 point for information about the Smithsonian, the Visitor 

 Information and Associates' Reception Center (VIARC) 

 continued to pursue its mission to broaden the public's 

 knowledge, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Institution 

 and to facilitate and promote participation in its programs 

 and activities. 



Work was carried out through the Smithsonian Informa- 

 tion Center; 18 museum information/member reception desks; 

 response services for public and member mail, telephone, and 

 electronic inquiries; outreach to the tourism industry; outdoor 

 wayfinding stations; two large volunteer programs that 

 provided primary support for the Institution's public informa- 

 tion activities and for staff project assistance behind the 

 scenes; and a docent program for the Castle. 



Operating from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, the Smithsonian 

 Information Center attracted 1,812,172 visitors. Reception 

 services were provided to 28,168 Associate members and their 

 families; 3,950 memberships were sold representing a 41% 

 increase over the previous year and some $129,102 in revenue. 

 Docents led 324 tours of the Castle, which engaged 3,530 

 public and Associate participants. 



Information desk services were provided daily in 13 

 museums by a corps of more than 700 Volunteer Information 

 Specialists. During the year 125 new volunteers were 

 recruited, trained, and placed in desk assignments across the 

 Institution; the InfoSpecial newsletter was produced and dis- 



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