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MUSEUM PROGRAMS

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Museum Programs consist of the following activities: Office of Museum Programs, Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Office of the Registrar, Office of Exhibits Central, National Museum Act, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Smithsonian Archives, Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Office of International Activities, Office of Horticulture, and South Group Building Management. These units report to the Assistant Secretary for Museum Programs and have as their chief responsibility the provision of museum management and other services to the museums and research bureaus of the Institution. In addition, they offer assistance, guidance, and technical advice to museums in the United States and abroad and work closely with national and international organizations to advance the practices, methodologies, and standards of the museum profession.

An assessment of the nature and scope of problems confronting museums in recent years, at the Smithsonian and elsewhere, must include such critical areas as: conservation treatment of collections; training of conservators and conservation technicians; development of improved collections management systems (encompassing registration, cataloguing, inventory control, security, storage, and preventative conservation); training of museum professionals in all phases of museum management and operations; and the advancement of archeometric research on the basic characteristics of materials found in collections. Such an assessment should also include attention to: the establishment of effective techniques for evaluation of museum exhibits as a means of enhancing their educational values; making available a full range of bibliographic and archival resources to support research, exhibits, and other museum functions; developing ways for sharing information, collections and exhibits with other museums; and creating cooperative programs in support of constructive efforts for the preservation of cultural patrimony in all parts of the world. All of these matters are addressed by the Smithsonian's Museum Program units.

[[underline]] Current Resources and Support [[/underline]]

Total resources available to Museum Programs in FY 1979 approximate $8,870,000 and 312 full-time positions. Of this total, federal appropriations amount to $7,654,000 and 287 positions, and support almost entirely the units' basic work, with the exception of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). SITES relies to a large extent on general unrestricted trust funds ($821,000 in FY 1979), most of which are generated by rental fees for the exhibitions circulated.