Packages prepared in accordance with the rules enumerated below will be 
received by the Smithsonian Institution from individuals or institutions of learning 
in the United States and forwarded to their destinations abroad through the various 
exchange bureaus or agencies in other countries. Many of those bureaus and agen¬ 
cies will likewise receive packages of publications from correspondents in their 
countries for distribution as gifts or exchanges to correspondents in the United 
States and its dependencies, and will forward them to Washington, after which the 
Institution will transmit them to their destinations by mail free of cost to the 
recipients. 
On receipt of a consignment from a domestic source it is assigned a “Record 
Number,” which number is, for identification purposes, placed on each package 
contained therein. After the packages have been recorded they are packed in 
boxes with publications from other senders and are forwarded by freight to the 
bureaus or agencies abroad which have undertaken to distribute exchanges in those 
countries. To Great Britain and Germany shipments are made weekly; to France 
and Italy, semi-monthly; and to all other countries consignments are forwarded at 
intervals not exceeding a month. 
The Institution assumes no responsibility in the transmission of packages in¬ 
trusted to its care, but at all times endeavors to forward exchanges safely and as 
promptly as possible. Especial attention should be called in this connection to the 
time ordinarily required for the delivery of packages sent through the Exchange 
Service. To Great Britain and Germany, for example, where weekly shipments are 
made, the average time for a package to reach its destination is about six weeks. To 
those countries to which shipments are made at semi-monthly and monthly intervals, 
the time of delivery is, of course, somewhat longer, depending on the distance and also 
whether packages are received at the Institution immediately before or after a ship¬ 
ment. If, therefore, advance notices are mailed by senders, mention should be made 
of the above facts in order that consignees may expect some delay between the receipt 
of notices and the arrival of packages. In cases where greater dispatch is desired, 
publications should be forwarded by the senders to their foreign destinations direct 
by mail. 
RULES. 
The rules governing the Smithsonian International Exchange Service are as 
follows: 
1. Consignments from correspondents in the United States containing packages 
for transmission abroad should be addressed— 
