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[[underlined]] Museum Shops. [[/underlined]]
Sales desks have been a part of the Smithsonian operations since the 1860s, but substantial sales have only come about in recent years. Centrally managed museum shops are located now in the Museum of History and Technology, the Museum of Natural History, the Arts and Industries Building, the Air and Space Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Collection of Fine Arts, the Portrait Gallery and the Renwick Gallery.

Items offered for sale in museum shops relate to the education value of the individual's visit, and are relevant to the collections, appropriate to the museum where sold, and in conformity with high standards of quality and taste. An important segment of the items offered are catalogs and publications related to exhibition themes and subjects, including those written by Smithsonian scholars. Craft products, reproductions of artifacts, and educational games and toys for children are also sold.

[[underlined]] Mail Order Division. [[/underlined]] In 1975, a mail order division was formed. Both Christmas and spring catalogs are offered each  year, and a summer catalog may be offered on an annual basis in future years.  Approximately 150,000 catalog orders are filled annually through the Division's receiving and shipping center in Springfield, Virginia.

[[underlined]] Concessions. [[/underlined]]  Through concession arrangements, the Institution provides visitors with restaurant facilities and recorded tour rental systems in the major Smithsonian museums.  A bookstore operates on a concession basis in a Museum of History and Technology.  Other concessions include the popular carrousel and popcorn wagons on the Mall during the spring and summer.

[[underlined]] Parking [[/underlined]].  Parking revenues are generated by the parking garage located under the Air and Space Museum, as well as through the employee paid parking program.  It is anticipated that underground parking facilities planned for the Quadrangle development project will be operated by the Business Management Office, and the revenues generated will offset partially the costs of construction of this facility.

[[underlined]] Belmont Conference Center [[/underlined]] The Center, which opened in 1967, is located between Washington and Baltimore and is operated by the Smithsonian to provide a setting for scholarly conferences and related gatherings both for its own activities and for other nonprofit and governmental organizations and institutions.  The limited size of this facility has necessitated in years past an operating subsidy of approximately $50,000 to $100,000 per year.

[[underlined]] Future Year Prospectus

Museum Shops [[/underlined]].  Closely related to visitation, sales should continue to grow at a modest rate.  For the most part, there is a little opportunity or room for spatial expansion without affecting museum operations.