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functions at Mt. Hopkins Observatory, the Zoo's Conservation and Research Center at Front Royal, the Museum Support Center, and the Museum of African Art. Expanded programs will occur at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies.

[[underline]] The National Museum Act. [[/underline]] The National Museum Act (NMA) provides support to museums, professional museum associations, and academic institutions for training of museum personnel, special museological studies, and for professional and technical assistance for the museum community.

These grants are unique in that they concentrate on museological issues and give high priority to projects advancing conservation training and techniques, unlike the grant programs offered by the National Endowments which support, for the most part, art of humanities related programs, or the Institute of Museum Services which provides support for museum operating costs. In 1979, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Museum Programs and the NMA staff participated in a series of meetings involving these organizations and conducted by the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. These meetings resulted in the development of a memorandum of understanding which delineated areas of concern and the various responsibilities of the several organizations and agencies involved in museum grants. NMA grant programs will be studied carefully in conjunction with changing emphasis and new initiatives on the part of these other organizations to continue to assure that duplications and overlaps will not occur. The Institution's grant program continues to be directed toward specialized museological concerns and emphasizes conservation training, research, and assistance. Legislation authorizing continuation of the National Museum Act through FY 1983 will be sought in the spring of 1980.

[[underline]] Other Programs. [[/underline]] The museum training workshops and conservation audio-visual presentations produced by the Office of Museum Programs have met with widespread acceptance by the museum community. In the coming five years, the Office will seek to increase the quantity and to enhance the quality of these presentations to meet and advance higher standards of performance within the museum profession. In addition, the Native American Museum Training activity, which has attracted the attention not only of Native American tribal groups but interested federal and local agencies as well, will receive considerable emphasis through internships, workshops, and on-site consultations. Trust fund support for a seminar for tribal leaders, and for six interns to study at the Institution, which was provided through the Public Service Outreach Program, enabled this part of the museum training effort to advance appreciable in FY 1979.

Throughout the five-year period, the Archives will continue to develop records management programs for offices throughout the Institution and to implement automated systems for the better management of collections. Demands upon the Office of Exhibits Central will increase due, in part, to the renovation of existing exhibition ares (such as the Art