NASM. Outgoing mail in response to both mail and phone in- 

 quiries numbered over 84,000 pieces. 



VIARC's public telephone inquiries numbered 355,023, the 

 second highest traffic level in Telephone Information Service 

 history. Factors influencing the volume of calls included the 

 firsr venue for America's Smithsonian, the Vermeer exhibition at 

 the National Gallery of Art, the 2 government shutdowns and 

 150th anniversary activities especially the Birthday Parry on 

 the Mall. 



The Behind the Scenes Volunteer Program recruited and 

 placed 272 new volunteers to assist with staff projects. 472 

 volunteers were registered for other staff. Total volunteers par- 

 ticipating in behind-the-scenes projects during the year num- 

 bered 1,244. Translation projects including 2 oral assignments 

 numbered 119 in 13 languages. 



Efforts to address the Institution's accessibility and cultural 

 diversity goals were on-going. 19% of new Volunteer Informa- 

 tion Specialists represented minority constituencies. 18% of 

 new volunteers placed in projects behind the scenes were 

 known to be minorities. Printed information in the form of 

 "Samplers" was produced for all Heritage Celebrations and 24 

 hour recorded information tapes were also provided. As new 

 updates were required, publications were revised to reflect ad- 

 herence to accessibility guidelines. 



The Institution-wide volunteer survey conducted annually 

 through VIARC counted a total of 9,026 volunteers who con- 

 tributed some 574,565 hours of service during FY 96. This rep- 

 resents an increase of 67% in volunteer support due primarily 

 to the large number of individuals assisting with the 150th 

 Birthday Party on the Mall and the America's Smithsonian 

 traveling exhibition. The January issue of The Torch continued 

 to recognize the contributions of volunteers across the Institu- 

 tion. Volunteers were also acknowledged throughout the year 

 in many ways and included in numerous special 150th ac- 

 tivities designed to bring the Smithsonian community 

 together. Staff Open Houses, staff tee shirts, the "thank you" 

 poster featuring fireworks over the Castle, invitation to the 

 presentation of the 150th Smithsonian Coins and more, all rein- 

 forced the importance of volunteers to the work of the Institution. 



Appreciation events for participants in VIARC's two volun- 

 teer programs included remarks by Secretary Heyman at the 

 Holiday reception for Volunteer Information Specialists and 

 remarks by the Provost, J. Dennis O'Connor, at the spring 

 event for behind-the-scenes volunteers. 



Work with the tourism industry continued through par- 

 ticipation in major marketplace activities, liaison with local 

 hospitality, convention, and visitors associations and on-line 

 through TravelFile. To promote the Smithsonian as a major 

 destination for international travelers VIARC co-hosted with 

 the Washington, DC Convention and Visitors Association a 

 Smithsonian reception for principal international tour 

 operators and hosted another for African American Heritage 

 tour planners. 150th ads were designed and placed in key in- 

 dustry publications to promote travel to the Smithsonian 

 during our sesquicentennial year and Amtrak agreed to fea- 



ture our Guide to the Smithsonian video on Chicago-DC trains and 

 the Florida— DC Autotrain. A rack card promoting 150th par- 

 ticipatory events was distributed widely through local and na- 

 tional travel industry sources and in pre-visit planning packets. 



Additional activities specific to the celebration of the 

 Institution's 150th anniversary included distribution of 

 hundreds of thousands of brochures; coordinating the design, 

 procurement and hanging of double sided metal banners from 

 lamp posts on the National Mall parallel to Smithsonian 

 buildings; design and procurement of a pennant for the flag 

 tower and flags for the double basketed lamp posts around the 

 Castle, A & I and garden areas. An interior 150th banner was 

 also created for each Smithsonian museum and research 

 facility. VIARC also incorporated the 150th logo on all 

 printed materials and on the exterior orientation pylons; 

 uploaded the official 150th calendar onto America Online and 

 the Smithsonian internet site; played a leadership role in train- 

 ing 400 volunteers to staff the information/membership 

 booths at the Birthday Party on the Mall; created special refer- 

 ence binders for each booth and answered an average of 1,400 

 telephone inquiries per day regarding activities and events 

 during the week of the party. 



Office of the Provost 



J. Dennis O'Connor, Provost 



The Provost serves as the Smithsonian's chief programs officer, 

 providing leadership and integrated oversight for all of the 

 Institution's program activities carried out in the museums, 

 research institutes and education and scholarly service units. 

 The Provost reviews and evaluates the management of 

 programs in research, exhibitions and education outreach, in 

 the sciences, arts and humanities; provides operational facilita- 

 tion to the program units; maintains close working relation- 

 ships with directots and their boards and commissions; and 

 assists the units in undertaking collaborative initiatives. 



The Accessibility Program collaborates with all Smithsonian 

 organizations to ensure that current and planned programs, exhi- 

 bitions and facilities are fully accessible to staff and visitors with 

 disabilities. The Scientific Diving Program ensures that all diving 

 under the auspices of the Institution is conducted in a manner 

 that will protect research scientists from accidental occupational 

 injury and illness, and sets standards for training and certification 

 to allow reciprocity between the Smithsonian Institution and 

 other research organizations involved in scientific diving. 



Institutional Studies Office 



Zahava D. Doenng, Director 



The Institutional Studies Office (ISO) is a pan-Institutional 

 resource for the scientific study of the characteristics, at- 



Si 



