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[[underlined]] Museum Support Center Equipment and Operations [[/underlined]].  Appropriations are being used to purchase the specialized storage and laboratory equipment necessary for outfitting the building under construction at Suitland, Maryland.  The storage system selected for purchase and installation at the Center provides efficient high-density storage on three eight-foot-high storage levels, similar to multistory library stacks.  The system uses fixed, self-supporting metal racks and cabinets that can hold a variety of cases, shelves and drawers as needed to meet the specific requirements of each of the collections.  To help fund the equipment requirements, the Institution will use about $750,000 in trust funds for specialized conservation equipment in FY 1982-83, and in future years will redirect rental funds presently used for the Oceanographic Sorting Center which will be housed in the Center.

Appropriations of $2,711,000 and $4,415,000, including $400,000 in base funds from the Museum of Natural History, were made in FY 1981 and FY 1982 respectively for the purchase of specialized storage and laboratory equipment for the Center.  In July 1982, a successful bid was received by the General Services Administration for the first increment of storage equipment for the "wet collections" of the Oceanographic Sorting Center and the Museum of Natural History.  Fabrication and installation of this equipment will get under way during the fall of 1982.  Bids for storage equipment for other collections will be solicited early in 1983.

The FY 1983 appropriation request includes $4,220,000 for continued purchase of storage and operational equipment: $1,100,000 for expenses for moving specimens and artifacts from museums and laboratories to the Center; $800,000 for utility costs; and $400,000 for support costs, including custodial, maintenance, security, and program operations.  Since it appears that no new positions will be authorized during 1983, the Institution is currently examining means by which the Support Center will be staffed for its first year of operation.  Alternatives include reprogramming existing positions and contracting for security and maintenance functions, either on the Mall or at the Center.

For FY 1984, the Institution is seeking a consolidated appropriation of $8,062,000, including $3,495,000 for additional increments of the specialized equipment and the completion of the acquisition program for laboratory and related operational equipment, $800,000 for utilities, $750,000 for moving expenses, and 115 positions and $3,017,000 to operate the Support Center at an effective level.  Approval of these positions will provide essential security, maintenance, and equipment operations, as well as conservation and training functions for which the building is being constructed.