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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION    1327

Metropolitan Area of Washington. The Bureau representative recognized that the Smithsonian Institution had special problems which were discussed at length, and relative to this the Secretary as of December 15, 1950, had been called on to submit a report, which he had done, subject to approval of the Board of Regents.

The salient features of this report are as follows:

The properties of the Smithsonian, aside from its buildings, are found principally in its collection, and in its library. The collections at present in all fields, including natural history, history, industry, and art, comprise in the neighborhood of 33 million catalog entries (covering a considerably larger number of individual items) and approximately 1 million books. The monetary value of these holdings is now in the neighborhood of a billion dollars. It must be recognized moreover, that included are hundreds of thousands of unique specimens and articles that could not be replaced under any circumstances if destroyed. The whole comprises a highly important part of the cultural and scientific assets of our Nation. The collections are divided into two different parts; the great exhibitions on display in our public halls, and the vast research collections in our laboratories, libraries, and storage rooms, which numerically include the greater part of our holdings.

Our public exhibitions necessarily should remain in their present locations where they are readily accessible. To attempt to remove them would be highly detrimental to public morale.

The plan proposed contemplates the removal of the scientific research collections and the library, with the appropriate staff, to what is termed the dispersal area, adjacent to the City of Washington, namely, a distance of 20 to 40 miles from the center. Should there be destruction in the central part of the city, where the museum and gallery buildings are found, the tremendously valuable research collections located outside this

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