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-72- be applied toward developing information from computer banks for use by land managers, and toward the establishment of monitoring sites in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific basins. Federal appropriations are being sought beginning in FY 1981 for two new programs, the Major Exhibitions Program and the Smithsonian National Awareness Program. [[underline]] Major Exhibitions Program. [[/underline]] Prior to and during the Bicentennial year, the Institution maintained a separate major exhibits program. Funded by Congress for specific, carefully planned exhibitions whose costs were over and beyond that which could be financed by normal base resources, this program permitted coordinated planning, collecting and display activities devoted to timely topics of particular visitor interest. Many of the exhibitions, so funded, are still open to the public and occupy a large portion of exhibit space. Following the Bicentennial, however, this program was phased out and its funding was rejustified and redirected to other programs, especially collection management efforts, which had been underemphasized. Now, however, the need for major new resources to revitalize exhibitions (especially at the Museum of History and Technology) and to permit more joint exhibits activity among History and Art museums has become evident. The Program will be administered by the Assistant Secretary for History and Art. The Smithsonian's FY 1981 budget requests $1,000,000 to begin upgrading various exhibits areas. [[underline]] Smithsonian National Awareness Program. [[/underline]] Drawing upon the expertise of Smithsonian scientists and scholars, this program will focus on topics which have been identified as important to the peoples of the world during the last two decades of this century, e.g., endangered species, the impact of volcanoes on the human environment, alternative energy sources, the rapid loss of tropical forest areas, the warming of the earth's atmosphere, and the advancement of deserts into arable land. The Program constitutes a major institutional effort to synthesize research information on these topics and to place it in front of the citizenry in a concise and understandable manner. It will combine original research, publications, and public exhibitions, discussions, and other presentations to stimulate a national awareness of the pertinent facts surrounding these problems, and the efforts underway to resolve them. The Program will be administered by the Assistant Secretary for Science, and the FY 1981 budget contains an appropriations request of $600,000 to initiate activities. Further details are contained in that document. [[underline]] Museum Support Center Equipment. [[/underline]] Shortly after the Museum Support Center building design contract was signed on February 6, 1979, the architect began negotiations with a systems engineering firm to evaluate alternative storage equipment and its design. The development of collections storage building design and equipment evaluation proceeded in parallel beginning in mid-March, and following official acceptance of the architect's building design recommendation and estimate of construction cost on July 19, 1979, the equipment report was delivered on September 19, 1979.