Special 150th anniversary feacures in Research Reports in- 

 cluded the beginnings of research at the Institution for the 

 8,500 scientists and scholars and the 75,000 Contributing 

 Members who receive the quarterly publication. Smithsonian 

 Runner highlighted Native American objects and activities as- 

 sociated with the 150th traveling exhibition for its nearly 

 35,000 readers. Research Reports and Runner features also 

 received wider distribution via the World Wide Web. 



The Torch, the staff newspaper, devoted an entire page each 

 month to 150th news and related features, along with addition- 

 al feature and news stories in many issues and a four-page sup- 

 plement on the Institution's early beginnings and history for 

 the August Birthday Party issue. Following the 150th 

 Birthday Party August 10 and II on the National Mall, The 

 Torch featured a two-page spread of photos taken during those 

 two days. Throughout this fiscal year. The Torch kept staff and 

 volunteers informed about 150th happenings. 



This year, the office took over publication of the biweek- 

 ly staff newsletter of administrative news and named it the 

 Blue Bulletin. The newsletter also kept staff informed by 

 running many items about 150th news, events and othet 

 happenings. 



OPA staff researched and coordinated the implementation 

 of format revisions for the Institution's annual report for 1996, 

 bringing to the report, Smithsonian Year, an overall thematic 

 approach focusing on the 150th anniversary. 



This year, OPA carried out two radio advertising cam- 

 paigns geared to African American audiences— one for Black 

 History Month in February and anothet for the 150th anniver- 

 sary Birthday Party in August. For the two campaigns, adver- 

 tisements were run on a number of Washington-area stations, 

 including WHUR, WPGC, WTOP and WMMJ. 



OPA carried out two radio advettising campaigns on 

 Spanish-language radio station WMDO — one for the 

 Birthday Party on the National Mall and the other for 

 Hispanic Heritage Month. Three print-advertising campaigns 

 were run in three Spanish-language newspapers in FY 1996. 

 The campaigns promoted activities during the winter 

 holidays, the Folklife Festival and Hispanic Heritage Month. 



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 activities of 

 the Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Centet 

 (VIARC) were impacted significantly throughout fiscal 1996 

 by the many special exhibitions, programs and events sur- 

 rounding the Institution's 150th anniversary. In addition, 

 lengthy government shutdowns followed by severe winter 



weather contributed yet another dimension to an atypical, 

 challenging but productive year. 



VI ARC's work continued to be carried out through the 

 Smithsonian Information Center; 18 museum informa- 

 tion/member reception desks; response services for public and 

 member mail, telephone and electronic inquiries; outreach to 

 the tourism industry; outdoor wayfinding stations; and two 

 large volunteer programs which provided primary support for 

 the Institution's public information activities and for staff 

 project assistance behind-the-scenes. 



Beginning in the early fall myriad promotional and par- 

 ticipatory activities and assignments associated with the 

 sesquicentennial were absorbed by staff and volunteers alike. 



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

 Information Center was the site for the first 150th anniversary 

 exhibition, "Smithson's Gift," which opened in January. 

 Celebratory banners featuring the 150th logo were hung from 

 the central pillars in the Great Hall and another larger banner 

 was displayed from the porte cochere at the Castle's Mall 

 entrance; a new introduction by the Secretary promoting the 

 sesquicentennial was added to the orientation program in the 

 Center's twin theaters; special graphics highlighting activities 

 were created for viewing between shows; and the new Smith- 

 sonian bell was displayed in the south tower room until its in- 

 stallation atop the Castle August loth. The only Smithsonian 

 facility not to expetience a dramatic decrease in visitation this 

 fiscal year, che Center attracted 1,721,551 visitors. Reception 

 services were provided to 28,551 Associates and their families. 

 2,793 memberships were sold representing over $85,000 in 

 revenue. 309 public and Associate tours of the Castle engaged 

 3,638 participants and docents added to their schedule 

 weekend tours of "From Smithson to Smithsonian," the 150th 

 exhibition sponsored by che Smithsonian Libraries and housed 

 at NMAH. 



Information desk services were provided daily in 13 

 museums by a corps of over 600 Volunteer Information 

 Specialists some 280 of whom signed up for additional dury to 

 staff the 14 information and membership booths at che 

 August 10th and nth Birthday Party on the Mall. During che 

 year 118 new Informacion Specialists were recruited, crained 

 and placed ac desks across the Institution; the InfoSpecial 

 newsletter was produced and distributed quarterly; and 67 in- 

 service enrichment opportunities were offered to volunteer 

 parcicipancs as a means of increasing their knowledge and un- 

 derstanding of the Institution's work and collections. The 

 150th anniversary pin and new identification badges incor- 

 porating the 150th logo and color scheme were designed and 

 provided to all volunteers fcr che anniversary year. 



Incoming public inquiry mail including electronic in- 

 quiries numbered 40,071. Capability to respond on-line in- 

 creased by 66% facilitating answers to some 2,367 inquiries. 

 31 new bibliographies, fact sheets and leaflets were created and 

 uploaded to AOL and WWW on subjects from Anthropology 

 co Zoology. Numerous articles were also uploaded to the Web 

 as well as the Weekly SkyWatcher's Report prepared by 



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