training course focused on basic security operations within a 

 museum setting. Wackenhut and OPS conducted 12 in-service 

 MPO training classes this year. Wackenhut also assisted OPS 

 in providing nine basic supervisory training courses for sergeants 

 and lieutenants and two senior supervisory courses for all 

 Security Managers. OPS initiated biannual weapons qualifi- 

 cation and training for all security staff who are regularly 

 required to carry a weapon. 



OPS selected Susan T. Tracey for the position of Associate 

 Director of Administration on March 2, 1997. James Burford 

 and Andrew Leben were appointed to the positions of Organi- 

 zational Ombudsman in April 1997. 



OPS announced and filled two upward mobility positions 

 within the Technical Security Division. OPS selected cwo 

 employees for these positions who previously held positions as 

 Museum Protection Officers. 



In an effort to upgrade and modernize security systems 

 throughout the Smithsonian Institution, OPS signed a mem- 

 orandum of understanding with the U.S. Army Engineering 

 Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama, for assistance with 

 design, procurement, installation, and replacement of the 

 Smithsonian Institution Propriety Security System. 



OPS worked closely this year wirh the "America's Smithson- 

 ian" staff to provide contract oversight for an on-site security 

 firm in Houston, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Birmingham, 

 Alabama; and San Jose, California. OPS staff also worked 

 closely with officials in each city to ensure that high-value ar- 

 tifacts were escorted to the exhibition sites without incident. 



The annual National Conference on Cultural Properry 

 Protection, hosted by OPS and The North Carolina Museum 

 of Art, was held from February 24 through 27 in Raleigh, 

 North Carolina. The theme for the conference was "Security- 

 Practices for Exhibition and Design in the 21st Century." Over 

 150 people attended the conference from museums, libraries, 

 and other cultural properry institutions. 



Smithsonian Magazine 



Ronald C. Walker, Publisher 

 Don Moser, Editor 



Since its founding in 1970, Smithsonian magazine has extended 

 the Institution's message, expanded its influence, and in- 

 creased its public visibility throughout the United States and 

 abroad. Considered one of the greatest success stories in 

 magazine publishing history, Smithsonian is now the 23rd 

 largest magazine in the country with a circulation of 2.1 mil- 

 lion. It continues to generate revenue for the Institution. 



Editorial subjects extend beyond the scope of the 

 Institution's museums. Leading authors contribute articles 

 abouc the arts, history, the environment, conservation, and the 

 sciences, always written with the layperson in mind. Monthly 



features include "Phenomena, Comment and Notes," a com- 

 mentary on nature and the natural world; "Smithsonian 

 Perspectives," a column by the Smithsonian Secretary; and 

 reviews of recently released non-fiction books. Smithsonian 

 Institution activities are covered in three regular departments: 

 "Around the Mall and Beyond," "Smithsonian Highlights," 

 and "The Object at Hand." 



During this year, Smithsonian magazine's redesign — the 

 first in its 27 year history — made its debut in the July 1997 

 issue. Designer Don Morris did not radically alter Bradbury 

 Thompson's original layout, but the changes were significant. 

 The logo was outlined and enlarged to run across the top of 

 the page, the typeface was changed, and a flexible system of 

 layouts now allows for different design treatments for dif- 

 ferent types of stories. 



Smithsonian magazine won several awards this year. First 

 was the 1997 National Magazine Award in the category of 

 "Special Interests." The award was presented for a three-part 

 series on invertebrates by Richard Conniff, which ran in the 

 February, May and July 1996 issues. 



The National Magazine Awards program is sponsored by 

 the American Society of Magazine Editors and administered 

 by the Graduate School of Journalism of Columbia University. 

 Established in 1966 to honor editorial excellence, the program 

 this year drew 1,183 entries from 281 different magazines. 



Other awards included the following: 



• Community Action Network's loth Annual Media and 

 Corporate Awards: Exceptional Merit award for "A Free- 

 dom Summer Activist Becomes a Math Revolutionary" by 

 Bruce Watson (February 1996), and Certificates of Merit for 

 "Making up for Lost Time: The Rewards of Reading at 

 Last" by Richard Wolkomir (August 1996); and "Ranchers 

 for a 'Radical Center' to Protect Wide-open Spaces" by Jake 

 Page (June 1997). 



• Acoustical Society of America's Science Writing Award in 

 Acoustics for Journalists, awarded for "Decibel by Decibel, 

 Reducing the Din to a Very Dull Roar" by Richard 

 Wolkomir (February 1996). 



• Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism 

 from the American Geophysical Union, awarded for 

 "Geologists Worry about Dangers of Living 'Under the 

 Volcano'" by Jon Krakauer (July 1996). 



• Smithsonian magazine's website also won an award, the 1997 

 Clarion Award for "Best World Wide Web Site — Non- 

 profit." The Clarion awards are sponsored by the Associa- 

 tion for Women in Communications. 



In partnership with the American Society of Travel Agents 

 (ASTA), Smithsonian magazine awarded the seventh annual 

 ASTAJSmithsonian Magazine Environmental Award to Maho 

 Bay Camps, Inc. and SeaCanoe Thailand, Co. Ltd. The award 

 recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions by in- 

 dividuals, corporations, and countries toward furthering the 

 goals of environmental conservation. 



