This book made available by the Internet Archive.

Exhibits

1. Ten-Year Trend in Principal Sources of Smithsonian Net

Unrestricted Trust Fund Income, FY 1985 - FY 1994 35

2. Recent Trends in Major Uses of Smithsonian Net Unrestricted

Trust Fund Income, FY 1986 - FY 1994 36

3. Smithsonian Institution Funding Goals-Operations,

FY 1993 - FY 1999 37

4. Smithsonian Institution Long Range Construction Program,

FY 1995 - FY 1999 38

5. National Museum of the American Indian-Cultural Resources Center,

Suitland, Maryland 41

6. National Zoological Park, Construction and Improvements,

FY 1995 - FY 1999 42

May 1994

Choosing the Future

Message from the Secretary

In our five-year planning documents, we face the difficult task of not only presenting goals that are stil] fairly remote but also indicating the specific ways by which we plan to attain them. Of course, we must do so in the light of past and present experience. This is particularly true this year for two reasons. First, the Smithsonian's approaching sesquicentennial in 1996 calls upon us to reflect upon the Institution's 150-year history and assess how well the road ahead maintains the basic direction of the road we have traveled. Second, as I approach the end of my tenure, I have used this occasion to look back upon these last ten years during which I have been privileged to serve as Secretary of one of the greatest cultural and scientific institutions in the world.

Over the past decade, I have been witness to the many accomplishments of the dedicated people who make the Smithsonian such a special and unique place. Since the initiatives and accomplishments of this period will, as those that have preceded them, set the path for the continuing long-term evolution of the Institution, I would like to highlight a few examples.

In the sciences, we have taken remarkable strides to transform the National Zoo into a true biological park. As a biological park, the Zoo will impart to the public a much greater understanding of our global environment and the interrelatedness of the many millions of species which inhabit our world. There is no better manifestation of this than the National Zoo's recently opened Amazonia exhibit. This wonderfully reconstructed sliver of one of our world's most fascinating and endangered ecosystems has done more to stimulate curiosity and spur the pursuit of wider and deeper knowledge among the public than a more traditional, single-species exhibit could ever have done.

The Smithsonian's enormous collections form an important basis for scientific research. They play an increasingly crucial role in providing the systematic, descriptive foundation necessary for mapping contemporary biodiversity, tracing the impact of environmental instability, and advancing the understanding of long-term evolutionary processes.

Within the past ten years, there have also been significant accomplishments in the arts and humanities. After almost five years of being closed to the public, the newly-renovated and restored Freer Gallery of Art — home to one of the world's greatest Asian art collections and some strikingly complementary works of individual American artists — has reopened. The National Museum of American Art has greatly expanded its outreach activities through its National Arts and Humanities Education Program and its "Save Outdoor Sculpture" initiative. In a collaborative effort with the U.S. Postal Service, the Smithsonian has established a National Postal Museum as a part of the National Museum of American History.

In the immensely popular field of air and space history, the Smithsonian has begun detailed planning for the extension of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) at Dulles International Airport. The NASM Extension will allow for the conservation and exhibition of the many artifacts which at present are inadequately stored and cared for at the antiquated Garber facility in Suitland, Maryland. The Extension will provide the public with the opportunity to see first-hand such well-known and historically significant artifacts as the space shuttle Enterprise, the Enola Gay, and the SR-171 Blackbird. Just as importantly, the new facility will, for the first time, provide the necessary conservation and storage standards that our unparalleled collection requires. The construction of the NASM Extension will be supported by a unique partnership which will ultimately include not only the Smithsonian and the Commonwealth of Virginia, but also the regional business community and private sponsors from around the nation.

This fall, we will open to the public the first permanent facility of the National Museum of the American Indian — the George Gustav Heye Center in New York. The establishment of the National Museum of the American Indian is one of the initiatives taken during my term as Secretary of which I am proudest, and which I personally think offers the most to expanding the field of perception of visitors who come to the Smithsonian. In addition to allowing visitors access to this extraordinary collection, I believe that this Museum — developed in partnership with the Indian people of this hemisphere who are represented in it — will change, in some significant ways, the perceptions people have of what museums are and what they can be.

Looking beyond our many programs focused on planet Earth, the Smithsonian's Astrophysical Observatory will soon greatly enhance its capability to carry out its mission with the addition of two state-of-the-art instruments: the converted multiple mirror telescope on Mt. Hopkins in Arizona and the submillimeter telescope array on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. These two instruments have been in development for nearly a decade. Once in service, they will be the cornerstone of the Observatory's ground-based data gathering capability for years to come.

In addition to our program achievements, we have made significant and long-term reforms in the administration and management of the Institution. Some of these reforms have resulted from incremental improvements in administrative systems and strategies. Some reforms have resulted from the recognition of the need for a different approach by senior management during the period of constrained resources. All of these changes, combined with the organizational restructuring undertaken over the past several years, have resulted in better accountability throughout the Institution for both Federal and Trust funds.

Thinking back over what I have learned during this decade, I am moved to offer three brief characterizations of the Institution. I hope that they may convey a useful, longer-range perspective on the course that the Smithsonian will follow.

The first is that the Smithsonian is a living institution, undergoing change all the time. Everything we seek to study and represent is changing. The technical means at our disposal are rapidly and continuously advancing. The audiences with whom we wish to communicate

are not only demanding more and more of us but are also taking an increasingly active role in a dialogue with us. This is an institution that is committed to maintaining a long-term view of its changing responsibilities and not to be caught up in the vicissitudes of the day. We have a responsibility to prepare thoughtfully for the central, yet surely different, role that the Institution will be called upon to play well into the 21st century.

Second, this is an Institution that is as central as any in the cultural and scientific life of this country, and it must work actively to maintain and enhance that centrality. Reaching out to new audiences, and opening new dialogues as well as deepening and extending old ones, has to be of paramount importance for us and for the nation. In the past, we have been able to accomplish this national outreach, not only on the Mall, but also throughout the United States by means of traveling exhibitions and other collaborative programs. With the prospect of information superhighways now opening before us, I confidently expect that we will continue to reach out more and more effectively, and in technologically unforeseen ways, in the years ahead.

Third and finally, the Smithsonian has always represented a public-private partnership. It is ever more important and even more vital to continue this partnership under the conditions that lie ahead of us. In recognition of this fact, the National Board of the Smithsonian, a distinguished group of public-spirited volunteers drawn from every part of this nation, has recently accepted the responsibility of helping to secure a more adequate endowment for the Institution, establishing the Smithsonian Fund for the Future.

This public-private partnership reflects the complementary relationship of the Institution's Federal and nonappropriated funding. Federal funding makes possible the preservation of the Institution's core collections, facilities, and functions, while private funding greatly enhances the research, educational outreach, acquisitions and exhibition programs, and is essential for many of the initiatives that continuously revitalize us. It is this combination, I am convinced, that more than any other single thing has made the Institution the wonderful invention that it was in 1846 and continues to be.

In this, my last "Message from the Secretary," I have been retrospective, but as we look back on the Institution, we also continue planning for its future. Towards this end. the Board of Regents has established a Commission on the Future of the Smithsonian Institution to look at the long term national responsibilities of the Institution. I would like to stress that the Smithsonian will continue to be very vital and strong, and that it will continue to develop new programs and create new initiatives, as appropriate to its central place in American society.

Rdbert McC. Adams Secretary

Choosing the Future

THE ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND

Since 1977, when the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian and the Secretary established a five-year planning process, the Smithsonian has produced a five-year prospectus to articulate its program plans for the next five fiscal years and to describe longer-term plans for construction and facilities. This prospectus has been called Choosing the Future to express the Smithsonian's commitment to shaping its own future and continually strengthening its vitality.

As with last year, the Smithsonian confronts difficult choices. Declining resources, both in Federal appropriations and in unrestricted Trust income, have prompted an Institution-wide review of the allocation of these resources within the context of priorities.

The aim is permanent downsizing and restructuring of the Smithsonian to permit better equilibrium between function and fiscal reality. This volume of Choosing the Future reflects that aim. Its central focus is a continuation of last year's reallocation and restructuring plan that projects minimal growth in the near term. While the future seems uncertain, the Smithsonian is determined it shall not be without choice. Given the arrival of a new Secretary later this year and the establishment of the Commission on the Future to help shape a vision of the Smithsonian in the 21st century, the Institution will be well positioned to advance its mission in the years to come.

Following a message by the Secretary which highlights his tenure and contemplations on the future, this volume begins with an overview of the Institution's familiar history and responsibilities. The following section provides a candid assessment of the financial context that has necessitated downsizing and restructuring, and the financial strategies the Smithsonian is taking in response. Then the Institution's priorities are surveyed, with discussion of accomplishments, goals, and plans. In a final section, the Institution's capital program is presented.

The History and Mission of the Smithsonian Institution

In 1836, on behalf of the American people, Congress accepted a bequest from an Englishman, James Smithson, and pledged the faith of the United States to his charitable trust. In 1838, following approval of the bequest by the British courts, the United States received Smithson's estate valued at approximately $500,000. In 1846, an Act of Congress founded the "Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge."

Over the past 148 years, the Smithsonian has grown into a unique museum, education and research complex of museums and galleries and sophisticated education and research facilities. There are fourteen museums and galleries located in Washington, D.C., and two

in New York City; a zoological park in Washington, D.C.; and scientific research facilities in eight states and the Republic of Panama. Research and outreach projects in the arts, history, and science are carried out internationally.

As a leader in both the museum and research fields, the Institution's interests are broad — from the unparalleled collections of the new National Museum of the American Indian to the unique holdings of the visual arts of sub-Saharan Africa in the National Museum of African Art. The products and services it provides are as varied as the innovative educational materials prepared by the National Science Resources Center, the unique exhibitions of the National Air and Space Museum, valuable research conducted at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the extensive outreach efforts of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The Smithsonian's impact on the nation and the world is without parallel.

Choosing the Future

FINANCES: CONTEXT AND PLANS

Throughout its history, the Smithsonian Institution has benefitted from a strong base of Federal support for its programs and its ability to complement this funding with nonappropriated sources of funds. While not a Federal agency itself, the Institution receives Federal appropriations as well as grant and contract funding from Federal agencies and other government sources for various research and educational projects. It has significant non-Federal, income-producing business elements, including retail activities, concessions, membership programs, magazines, and a press. As a nonprofit charitable organization, it also receives substantial support from individual, foundation, and corporate donors.

As both a public institution and a trust establishment of the United States, the Smithsonian is an excellent example of the partnership potential of the public and private sectors. The sources of net operating funds for FY 1993 demonstrate this public-private partnership:

Federal appropriations (Salaries and Expenses) $295.6 million

Government grants and contracts 43.8 million

Net Unrestricted Trust funds 40.3 million

Restricted Trust funds 29.2 million

Total $408.9 million

Approximately 70 percent of the Smithsonian's net general operating budget is derived from direct Federal appropriations. These appropriations support core functions that are central to the Smithsonian's mission, including:

• caring for and conserving the National Collections;

• sustaining basic research, both on collections and in other areas of traditional strength;

• informing the public, through exhibitions and other educational and outreach programs, about the collections and the results of research; and

• maintaining and securing facilities.

In addition, the Federal appropriation also supports a major portion of the Institution's administrative costs.

Choosing the Future

Nonappropriated Trust funds account for the remaining 30 percent of the Institution's net operating revenues. The Smithsonian defines Trust funds as all funds it receives from sources other than direct Federal appropriations. Nonappropriated Trust funds allow the Institution to undertake new ventures and enhance existing programs in ways that would not otherwise be possible. Unrestricted Trust funds, derived from gifts, investment income. unrestricted endowment income, net proceeds from the central auxiliary activities, and overhead recovery, comprised about 36 percent of the Smithsonian's nonappropriated net operating income in FY 1993. There are four primary uses of the Institution's net unrestricted Trust funds. These include:

• providing supplemental awards in four traditional Smithsonian activities: scholarly studies, special exhibitions, collections acquisitions, and educational outreach;

• sponsoring fellowships that give young scholars the opportunity to conduct research on the National Collections; or use special Smithsonian facilities and instrumentation;

• covering a portion of the Institution's administrative costs, including compensation for senior management officials; and

• funding development costs.

Funds received from donors or funding agents who have placed limitations on their use are classified as restricted. In FY 1993, over 64 percent of the Trust net operating funds received were restricted.

While the primary support for the Institution's capital program is Federal appropriations, growing constraints on the Federal budget require that the Smithsonian rely increasingly on public-private cooperation through both donations and business opportunities for new construction projects. Recent examples include the National Museum of the American Indian, which combines support from the city and state of New York, Federal appropriations, and private donations; and the National Air and Space Museum Extension at Dulles, which will be paid for by Federal appropriations, funding and in-kind contributions from the state of Virginia, income from related business activities, and private donations.

Financial Situation

Like most educational and nonprofit institutions, the Institution has not been immune to the impact of a fragile and sluggish economy. After almost boundless growth during the 1980s, net unrestricted Trust fund income since FY 1991 has remained at pre-1987 levels. Exhibit 1, page 35, provides trend information for the Institution's major sources of unrestricted Trust fund income. In FY 1993, the income stream from food service concessions, the press, and product development and licensing improved. Earnings generated by the magazine — the largest single source of unrestricted Trust fund income — the museum

shops, and mail order activities, however, continued to decline, in part as a result of capital investments designed to enhance future years' revenues. Projections for FY 1994 predict little change.

Even as unrestricted Trust income has declined, however, Trust expenses have risen as increasing numbers of employees were added to the Trust payroll in the late 1980s (see Exhibit 2, page 36). During this period when Federal government salary ceilings made attracting bureau directors and other senior managers difficult, the Institution resorted to Trust appointments. Today virtually all the Institution's senior officers are Trust employees. As the unrestricted Trust fund budget assumed salaries and benefits expenses formerly paid from the Federal appropriation, it provided correspondingly less in the way of fiscal flexibility. One consequence of the decline in unrestricted Trust fund income has been the fall in allocations to the Institution's supplemental awards programs to pre-FY 1986 levels (see Exhibit 2).

Although Federal operating appropriations have grown consistently over the past seven years, rising from $184 million in FY 1987 to $302 million in FY 1994, legislated increases in salary and benefits, along with inflation in rent, utilities and other purchasing have accounted for $75 million, or the majority of the new funding. The remainder of the new funding has been dedicated primarily to specific programs and projects, such as major scientific instrumentation, and is not available for other general operating expenses. During this same period, the Institution has been required to absorb an additional $25 million in unfunded mandatory costs. As a consequence, many positions that perform critical functions, such as for collections care and facilities maintenance and repair, are being held vacant for lack of funds. In addition, resources for travel and other non-personnel expenditures that enable bureaus to carry out their primary missions are severely limited.

Financial Strategies

For the Institution to continue its history of excellence in research, exhibitions, and educational outreach in the face of the growing fiscal constraints described above, major structural change is necessary. Hence, in the spring of 1992, the Secretary initiated a comprehensive, multi-year financial restructuring. This restructuring had multiple, complementary goals, including:

• sharpening programmatic goals and priorities;

• abolishing programs that are no longer central to the Smithsonian mission;

• eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies;

•

examining the appropriateness of the source of current funding for each program and function and realigning sources as necessary;

Choosing the Future

• redirecting approximately $30 million within the Federal operating budget and reducing baseline expenses supported by unrestricted Trust funds by $10 million;

• correcting major structural imbalances;

• investing selectively and on a cost/benefit basis in potential new auxiliary activities; and

• seeking expanded levels of giving from individuals.

Guiding the decisions for reduction and reallocation of resources are the following factors: a program's contribution to the Smithsonian's reputation for scholarly excellence, the extent to which an activity represents strategic importance for the future of the Institution, the program's historical growth as compared to that of other programs and activities, availability of other sources of funding, and the evidence of cost-conscious operations.

During FY 1993, the Institution made significant progress toward realizing its restructuring goals. With the understanding and support of the Congress, over $14 million in Federal funding was redirected to cover high priority but unfunded operating expenses. At the same time, the Institution reduced FY 1993 unrestricted Trust fund expenses by over $4 million. An early retirement program for Trust-funded employees has generated additional savings in FY 1994. In total, from FY 1992 to FY 1994, the workforce paid from net unrestricted Trust funds has been reduced by about 11 percent.

Among the funding realignments accomplished in FY 1993 was the establishment of two Institution-wide funding pools, one to support the upgrade and replacement of scientific research and laboratory equipment and the other to enable the myriad of information technology needs across the Institution to be addressed systematically. Internal steering groups will identify priorities both within and among bureaus based on approved five-year plans and will oversee the annual allocation of each fund. This review and allocation process will establish a more effective vehicle through which the nonrecurring needs of the bureaus and offices in these two critical areas can be addressed. This funding concept has proved so effective, the Institution's FY 1995 request to Congress seeks to create a third pool for Latino exhibitions, acquisitions, and educational programming.

The Institution has undertaken numerous special studies in preparation for the second phase of restructuring. Studies focusing on options for downsizing and cost containment include: an examination of programs conducted at the National Zoo with particular attention to the centrality of programs and activities conducted at Front Royal, Virginia; a study of the process and cost of planning, designing, and installing exhibitions; and an external management study of Smithsonian security operations. Other studies are focusing on the identification of new revenue-producing opportunities and fund-raising strategies.

Choosing the Future

Revenue-producing Opportunities

The Institution must seek new ways to do business; doing business traditionally will not provide the growth in unrestricted Trust fund income that is necessary for the future. All Institutional business activities are exploring ways to improve productivity of staff, space and inventory.

The Business Management Office has begun to reassess the role of each of its separate components: four business activities — museum shops, mail order, concessions, product development and licensing — and a marketing database for targeting growth. The marketing database is a relatively new entity for the Institution. Begun in 1987, it allows the Institution to have a better understanding of its entire consumer-marketing effort.

In addition, new opportunities and/or new concepts for existing activities to provide additional growth are being evaluated. These include: new restaurant concepts, featuring the installment of up-to-date formats within existing space; new shop concepts, including an increasing focus on specialty museum shops and a test of off-mall retailing; better communication of the connection of mail order activities with the mission and activities of the bureaus; and a proactive expansion of product licensing agreements.

Fund-raising Strategies

The Institution is strengthening the private side of the public-private partnership which has been the cornerstone of its financial underpinning since its founding in 1846.

Work currently underway is aimed at meeting two objectives: (1) the development of a marketing strategy that will increase private sector support in relation to the Institution's 150th anniversary, which will be celebrated in 1996, and (2) the establishment by the Smithsonian National Board of the Smithsonian Fund for the Future as a vehicle to seek gifts to increase the Institution's endowment.

One of the goals of the Institution's restructuring plan is to seek expanded levels of support from individual donors. In order for this goal to be achieved, fund-raising priorities must be identified and a shift in the Institution's solicitation strategy is essential.

Pan-Institutional fund-raising priorities for the planning period have been identified through an iterative process involving the bureaus and offices, the Assistant Secretaries, and the directors of the Office of Development and the Office of Planning, Management and Budget. Because unrestricted funds are more difficult to raise, most donated funds to the Smithsonian are restricted in purpose. The identification of fund-raising priorities helps to assure that solicitations for the highest priority needs are at the forefront of the Institution's fund-raising efforts. Successful solicitations for restricted, high priority purposes will provide relief to the unrestricted Trust funds that are currently being used to support a variety of educational outreach activities, exhibition development, and collections acquisitions.

To complement the designation of fund-raising priorities, beginning in FY 1992. the Institution initiated a change in the orientation of its solicitation strategy. As a result of a relatively stagnant national economy, the Institution is confronted with decreasing levels of financial support from corporations and foundations, historically its most significant sources of support from the private sector. To respond to these changed circumstances, the Institution devised a strategy to strengthen the results among prospective individual donors.

In order to meet both the marketing objectives of the upcoming 150th Anniversary Celebration and the solicitation objectives of the Smithsonian Fund for the Future endowment-building effort, the strategy to seek increased support has been broadened in FY 1994. Building on the identification of fund-raising priorities and on a heightened concern with individual donor solicitation, the expanded strategy necessitates seeking specific data to better inform the Institution's fund-raising program. These data are being collected through: (1) a series of focus groups in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.; (2) a study of the economic impact of the Smithsonian on the metropolitan Washington area; and (3) a national telephone survey of prospective contributors to the Institution, to be completed in Fall 1994.

Taken together, this information will clarify what prospective donors think about the Smithsonian and its financial needs; identify the strengths and weaknesses of current marketing and solicitation strategies; and position the Institution's appeals so that they will likely be positively received.

By the end of calendar year 1994, the Institution will have more information related to its private sector fund-raising potential than at any time in its history. This information will provide management with a sound basis for choosing the course of the future of fund-raising as the Institution moves into the next century.

Other Influences

As the Institution plans for the future, it will also be influenced by two recent Executive and Congressional initiatives designed to create a more effective, efficient and results-based government, namely, the National Performance Review, also referred to as Reinventing Government, and the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. The Government Performance and Results Act requires government organizations to collect and analyze the information necessary to strengthen program management, make objective assessments of program performance, and set measurable goals for future performance. A task force is currently developing a multi-year plan for implementing these objectives at the Smithsonian.

Many of the areas targeted by the National Performance Review (NPR) have already been the focus of prior study and action as part of the restructuring process. One recommendation of the NPR calls for a phased reduction in the civilian workforce. An implementing Executive Order will require the Institution to reduce its Federal staff by 229 positions by the end of FY 1995. This reduction will be achieved through a cost-cutting

program of offering early retirements and buyouts. Should position reduction goals not be met, hiring freezes, furloughs, releasing temporary workers and reductions-in-force may be necessary.

Exhibit 3, page 37, reflects gradual but consistent growth in Federal appropriations and non-appropriated Trust funds through the remainder of the century. This growth, together with the continuing restructuring, will support the Institution in its efforts to restore its vitality and advance toward its primary goals.

THE SIX PRIORITIES

The Smithsonian's primary goal during this planning period is to allocate the resources available in a manner that will strengthen the Institution, its leadership role, and its potential impact over time. Areas for investment of additional funds and areas for decreased funding have been and continue to be identified. To guide these funding choices, the Secretary articulated the following six priorities for the Institution two years ago:

• the care and conservation of our collections and facilities;

• the retention of a vibrant, broadly appealing exhibition program (probably relying more heavily on our own collections);

• the maintenance of momentum in our major research programs where the Institution has a strong tradition and comparative advantage, with particular emphasis on fellowships, internships, and minority access;

• the meeting of mandated responsibilities, including but not limited to those relating to environmental management, safety, and access for people with disabilities;

• the provision of an adequate administrative and service base to plan for and handle a transition to downsized programs and operations, without sacrificing present standards; and

• the retaining of recognizable salience, to the fullest extent that these other priorities permit, for key outreach programs to educate, widen, and diversify our audiences, and for those contributions to an understanding of global change that lie most directly within the Smithsonian's area of expertise and responsibility.

Care and Conservation of Collections and Facilities

The Smithsonian Institution is steward to many of the nation's treasures. Every imaginable kind of collection is held here: from airplanes, archaeological materials, archival material, botanical specimens, ceramics, clothing, drawings, furniture, gems, industrial machinery, live animals, medical equipment, meteorites, musical instruments, paintings, photographs, rare books, sculptures, to zoological specimens. While only a very small number of the collections are ever exhibited, the objects held by the Smithsonian have great value to current and future generations, and their management is critical to the fulfillment of the Smithsonian's original charter. The investment of resources in collections management. including the registration, storage, preservation, exhibition, restoration, and security of the objects already held by the Smithsonian and the acquisition of additional objects and specimens to enrich and diversify its holdings, is imperative.

Museums have several functions: to collect, to study, to conserve, to exhibit, and to educate. All of these functions involve the collections — and all are competing but complementary priorities. Collections management requires balancing public access and use of the collections with protective measures to ensure that the conservation is not threatened. To be a responsible custodian for these irreplaceable artifacts, the Smithsonian also must make wise decisions about acquisitions and set priorities among the many pressing needs for the care and conservation of its collections. These needs include the provision of environmentally appropriate and physically secure space and storage equipment, information systems to provide access to collections data, and staff to care for and document the objects held in the nation's trust.

The factors which must be weighed in making these difficult decisions about the collections and their management are increasing in number and complexity. These complex factors include changing taxation laws governing gifts, technical advances in materials for object housing and storage cabinetry, innovative integrated pest management approaches, new nomenclature protocols, hardware and software to enable easier storage and retrieval of data about the collections, rising insurance costs in borrowing objects, repatriation policies, and the escalating costs of acquiring new artifacts, specimens, and works of art. In recognition of these factors, the Smithsonian has paid increasing attention to its collections management policies over the last few years, placing emphasis upon creating requirements for the collections that balance the equally important goals of access to the collections and accountability for them.

Without basic investment in collections management, three outcomes will be inevitable. First, significant gaps in the collections will appear. New advances in art, culture, and science need to be reflected in the collections. As an increasing number of species each year become extinct, the need for a growing natural history collection also intensifies. Diversification of the collections is understandably a key aim of many of the museums. A special emphasis in the past few years has been the expansion of acquisitions to gain key works by traditionally under-represented groups. The National Portrait Gallery, for example, has sought to expand its representation of different ethnic groups and professions in its permanent and archival collections. With limited funding, however, enriching the collections through cultivation of gifts and bequests, purchases, and field collection, will be severely curtailed.

Even more critical is the second inevitable outcome of insufficient investment in collections management, the potential deterioration of the objects for which the Smithsonian possesses stewardship responsibility. The space available for collections storage and care in the various museums is extremely limited and requires placement of objects in far less than optimal conditions for their conservation. For example, the Institution currently stores portions of its collections in the far less than satisfactory Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and the NMAI storage facility in the Bronx. The current storage conditions in the museums themselves and in leased facilities seriously inhibit access to the objects for inventorying, treatment, scholarship, or exhibition.

To correct its chronic shortage of collections storage space, the Institution has developed a Master Plan for a Collections Center in Suitland, Maryland, which will augment the existing Museum Support Center at that site. The NMAI Collections Research Center, scheduled for construction in FY 1995, is the first facility of that plan. Millions of objects and specimens, primarily belonging to the National Museum of Natural History, are now being prepared and relocated to the Museum Support Center, with its 600,000 square feet of storage space, in a move that in volume, variety of collections, distance of transfer, and consequently, cost, is unprecedented in the museum world.

The proposed Collections Center will build upon the Museum Support Center concept, reduce the need for reliance on the Garber and Bronx facilities, and accommodate the Smithsonian's infrastructure needs for its collections into the 21st century. Construction of this facility and the new Dulles International Airport facility for the National Air and Space Museum in the coming decades will permit collections to be moved from their present sites with potentially adverse and unstable environmental storage conditions to secure sites where they will also be available for research and education.

The third outcome of inadequate investment in collections management will be insufficient information about the collections for both internal and external audiences. The advent of new, exciting technology provides opportunities for enhancing storage and retrieval of information about the collections. Technological advances include distributed processing, local area networks, relational database systems, hypermedia, and digital imagery. Benefits would accrue to both the Smithsonian and the public from the Institution's adoption and eventual participation in the national information highway initiative.

Resources for technology acquisition, however, have been extremely limited. The Institution is now considering a range of technology initiatives which not only would support increased accountability for the collections but also would enable important connections to be established between its research, exhibition, public outreach, and stewardship activities. The initiatives are also being evaluated on their potential contribution to improving public access to information about the collections. The Institution recognizes, however, that investment in hardware and software alone will not be sufficient. Human resources to acquire, develop and/or tailor systems, to collect and enter data about the collections, and to maintain and improve the systems over time are also important factors to be considered. Seeking funding for collections information systems and related human resources is an important priority of the Institution.

The buildings and grounds are also artifacts the Smithsonian holds in trust for the nation. The Institution maintains over six million square feet of space in more than 200 buildings. A few buildings are new; others are more than 100 years old. Many of the older buildings appear on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. Among the older buildings are the Arts and Industries Building, the Castle, some structures in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the Renwick Gallery, and the Patent Office Building which houses the National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery. Other buildings of the

Smithsonian are part of the National Register of Historic Places. Only with proper planning, operation, and maintenance of all of the Smithsonian buildings can the diverse programs of the Institution be offered now and in the future.

The need for restoration and expansion of the Smithsonian facilities is acute. Exhibition space, for example, is subject to great wear and tear, as millions of visitors come to view the exhibits each year. To accommodate existing research and public programs and essential behind-the-scenes activities, all facilities require refurbishing. By investing in facilities maintenance, the Institution seeks to slow the rate of deterioration of its buildings and thus slow the rate of new repairs. Potential funding sources for facilities restoration are limited. Inadequate Federal funding and the difficulty in raising private funds to cover facility repair costs pose a significant resource dilemma. Further details about the Smithsonian's capital program, which addresses all aspects of facilities construction, maintenance, and repair, are included in the final section of this document.

The Exhibition Program

In the course of a year, approximately 30 million visits are made to the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum complex. On any given day, those visitors learn about an incredible range of topics, from "Monitoring the Amazonia from Space" to "American Art at the 1893 World's Fair" to "Before Freedom Came: African American Life in the Antebellum South" to "Prints and Drawings from New Mexico" to "Contemporary Porcelains from Japan" to "Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington." Exhibitions are the Institution's primary means for sharing its collections with the public. Maintaining a vibrant, broadly appealing exhibition program is a continual and costly endeavor.

Coordinating the many exhibits of the Smithsonian museums is a massive task. The Institution has been carefully examining ways in which the planning and coordination of exhibits might be improved. A study is currently underway to develop a means of capturing exhibit costs to provide a basis for improved exhibit planning and budgeting and to identify and implement cost-effective practices. In addition, requirements for a Smithsonian-wide automated system for exhibit scheduling will also be developed. An expected outcome of the automation study will be a master exhibits schedule for the Institution.

Creating new exhibitions and renovating permanent ones require knowledge of the audience, awareness of successful exhibition approaches, familiarity with the Smithsonian collections, and current scholarship in the subject matter planned for display. Smithsonian curators must be active in their academic fields and resourceful in adapting recent research for presentation to the public. Staff development is a critical need of the Institution.

In planning exhibitions, the Smithsonian considers the potential audience and its rapidly changing nature. The 1990 census, for example, counted 250 million Americans, a 10 percent increase over 1980. Of particular interest for the Institution is the increasing diversity of the American population. Higher immigration rates, expanding minority

populations, and an aging of the population are trends that demand shifts in exhibition and outreach techniques. The Smithsonian recognizes its responsibility to present exhibitions that are sensitive to group identities and balanced in their view of society.

Among the exciting newer exhibitions at the Smithsonian is "Legend, Memory, and the Great War in the Air" at the National Air and Space Museum. In a departure from traditional museum displays on World War I aviation, this exhibition contrasts the romantic myth of gallant combat in the sky with the grim reality faced by the aviators who fought and died during the war. The exhibition uses photographs, posters, illustrations, models, implements of war, period aircraft, and other artifacts, along with audiovisual presentations, to give an accurate picture of aviation's role in the war and to examine the interplay between perception and reality in history. A rare French Voison Vm bomber dispels the notion that all World War I military aircraft were fighters. A re-created 1930s movie theater presents clips from period aviation films that introduced many to the romantic view of the first air war. Exploring the workings of history, the exhibition asks viewers to evaluate rarely challenged beliefs that guide aspects of their lives and their society.

Another innovative approach is reflected in the "Amazonia" exhibit at the National Zoological Park where the world of plants and animals, terrestrial and aquatic, is united into a holistic form of bioexhibitry. "Amazonia" highlights tropical biology and focuses on problems of biodiversity and development. The exhibit expounds the detailed interactivity and interconnectedness of tropical ecosystems and exalts the extraordinary fine-tuning achieved by evolution in its most dramatic and intense expression.

Despite these innovative exhibits, the list of exhibition space renovation needs is quite long. In the National Museum of Natural History alone, for example, the majority of exhibitions were installed over thirty years ago and many of the scientific concepts, attitudes and points-of-view presented are seriously out of date. The exhibitions lack interpretation of fundamental scientific ideas relevant to global change, evolution, biodiversity, plate tectonics. and cultural diversity. Because the costs associated with exhibition renovation are very expensive, only a few projects per year can be addressed despite the significant needs that exist.

When one of these renovations is completed, however, the impact is noticeable and exciting. For example, renovation of the Freer Gallery of Art, reopened to the public in May 1993 following a four-and-a-half year multi-million-dollar construction project, finally enabled the complete installation of the Freer's collections of Asian and American art. Visitorship at the Freer has increased dramatically since the reopening, as has attendance at its public programs. In just eight months following its reopening, the Freer logged 426.160 visits — more than the tally for all of 1984, the gallery's previous best year.

Through its Traveling Exhibition Service, the Smithsonian also circulates selected exhibitions to museums, libraries, science centers, historical societies, zoos, aquariums. community centers, and schools reaching millions nationally each year. The Institution will

take a major step forward during FY 1995 in expanding its national audience with a new initiative aimed at bringing the Smithsonian to rural communities. Several low-cost, easy-to-install exhibitions will circulate throughout small-town America, especially to public libraries and small, resource-poor exhibit centers. These projects aim to give communities too often excluded from national cultural programs the chance to experience some of the Institution's richest exhibit programs.

In the summer of 1994, the ongoing traveling exhibition activity will be expanded with a special exhibition at the American Festival Japan '94 exposition in Tokyo. A team of curators and exhibition designers from the National Museum of American History and the National Air and Space Museum are planning a major exhibition and music festival that will occupy approximately 60,000 square feet, one-third of the Festival space, in the Nippon Convention Center. The American Festival Japan '94, organized and sponsored by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and the Yomiuri Shimbun, a major newspaper in Japan, will provide the Institution with an excellent opportunity to present the Japanese public with a view of American history supported with artifacts, historic images, and film footage.

Through exhibitions like "Legend, Memory, and the Great War in the Air" and "Amazonia," more extensive renovation of exhibition space, and traveling exhibitions, the Smithsonian aims to educate audiences about recent advances in knowledge and changing perceptions of our world. New approaches in exhibition design and interpretive strategies can increase opportunities for audience participation in the exhibit experience. More interactive exhibitions, like those employed at the recently-opened National Postal Museum, invite visitors to pursue specific interests or to test their knowledge. Planning, mounting, and updating exhibits requires a curatorial and exhibition staff with diverse and innovative ideas. Ongoing in-service training helps ensure continued staff development. Even with a strong, well-trained staff, however, funding limits curtail the Smithsonian's ability to upgrade exhibits, to realize the potential benefits offered by expanding information technology, and to be an active participant in the national information infrastructure initiative.

Major Research Programs

Over one-and-a-half centuries, the Smithsonian has developed research strengths in several interrelated areas: the history and present state of the universe; the complex of living systems forming the earth's different environments; and human cultures, past and present. Research has always held a fundamental place in the life of the Smithsonian, undergirding many of its activities. Retaining momentum in these research programs, in which the Institution has a strong tradition and comparative advantage, will continue to be a priority.

The Institution's unparalleled National Collections provide Smithsonian researchers with countless opportunities for conducting vital research. Smithsonian researchers have, for example, made excellent progress in enriching our understanding of the evolution of many

species through study of the specimens held by the National Museum of Natural History. The National Zoological Park conducts vital research on preventing the extinction of threatened species. The National Air and Space Museum studies the social impacts of technology. The cultural, economic, industrial, and social history of the United States is the focus of research at the National Museum of American History, and the special art collections held by the National Museum of African Art, the Sackler Gallery, and the Freer Gallery offer unique research opportunities not available in other museums in the United States. The Smithsonian's research staff at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center have conducted ground-breaking research in astronomy and astrophysics, tropical biology, and ecosystem function. In all these areas of study, the Smithsonian benefits from its stewardship of lands and waters dedicated to research, its highly specialized equipment, and its expert research staff.

Smithsonian research priorities will continue to be selected for their contributions not only to science but to world issues today. The Institution cannot allow momentum to be lost in projects such as the development of inventories and descriptions of the world's past and current biota, study of the consequences of the environmental destruction in the tropics and the Chesapeake Bay, investigations that help prevent extinction of threatened species like the black-footed ferrets and Guam rails, and measurement of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth's surface and other atmospheric constituents that affect the ozone balance in the upper atmosphere.

The quality and range of the Institution's research is complemented by its ability to reach the public. The Smithsonian is uniquely equipped through its exhibition and other programs to present its research findings and increase public awareness of both the research process and its results.

Modern research requires adequate infrastructure support to advance knowledge. The Institution devotes considerable effort to attract leading scholars and must provide proper laboratory facilities and state-of-the-art equipment to ensure maximum productivity. The Institution has expended considerable resources in the past decade to modernize its facilities for research. Attention must now be directed to the acquisition of necessary equipment. Five-year replacement and enhancement plans have been initiated in all major research units. The first and second years of the Research Equipment Pool, totaling $2.4 million, are bringing these plans closer to reality.

Although the individual bureau plans reflect a need to replace much of the equipment which has exceeded its life expectancy, developing technology also dictates new equipment needs. For example, medical equipment is essential for the conservation programs and the preservation of endangered species at the National Zoological Park. Research in animal reproductive physiology including artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transplantation requires access to diagnostic devices. These devices include x-ray machines, electrocardiographs, investigative surgical telescopes, laparoscopes, fiber optic devices and

anesthesia machines. Investment in these kinds of equipment is critical to maintaining the value and impact of these major research programs.

Information access is also critical to maintaining the Smithsonian's momentum in its major research initiatives. For today's scientist, for example, awareness of the rapidly expanding literature and research in other major institutions is as important as adequate equipment. International electronic networks are rapidly replacing print as the means of increasing the scholarly community's awareness about the latest research topics, methodologies, and findings. Smithsonian scholars, given their role in such critical areas of research as global warming and genetic studies, especially need access to these data services. These needs are consistent with the Administration's vision for a "national information superhighway." The costs associated with such access include hardware and software for individual researchers as well as telecommunications and network subscription charges. It is anticipated that the Information Resources Pool, created from internal reallocations during the restructuring process, will offer a source of funding to meet some of the major research initiatives.

Future research is dependent on the preparation of a new generation of scholars. Through its fellowship and internship programs, the Smithsonian contributes to the training of future scholars. A Minority Internship Program, administered by the Office of Fellowships and Grants, has proven especially successful in increasing minority participation in Smithsonian research disciplines and educational activities.

At the same time that the cost of conducting research is increasing, the need for the research conducted by Smithsonian scholars grows and the demand for new researchers escalates. The national and international public is increasingly concerned about environmental changes that diminish natural environments and resources, including water, forests and agricultural lands, and energy sources. Understanding the worldwide impact of the loss of species and exploring the increasing concentration of certain gases such as carbon dioxide and methane in the earth's atmosphere are only two examples where Smithsonian research has made valuable contributions. The Smithsonian alone cannot save the many endangered species of the earth or complete all the studies necessary to understand global warming trends, but the Institution's fundamental research does and will continue to make a critical contribution.

Mandated Responsibilities

Each year, the Smithsonian conducts internal reviews and audits of its operations. The resulting information enables the Smithsonian to better comply with internal and external requirements and to continually improve its service to the public. Five areas of special concern, externally mandated but also seen as internal priorities, are environmental

management, management controls, performance measurement, safety, and access for people with disabilities.

In recent years, Congress has earmarked resources for environmental management and safety programs. Staff members are now available to assess most environmental, fire. and safety hazards in the work place and public areas of Smithsonian buildings and to identify changes to buildings or work practices that will protect employees who are exposed to hazardous conditions. Among many areas requiring health and safety improvements are two very costly endeavors: asbestos abatement and hazardous waste removal. Stringent new laws regarding hazardous waste removal now apply to the normal use of chemicals in the sophisticated research and conservation laboratories found at various Smithsonian sites. To protect employees, visitors, and the environment in the future, the Smithsonian also views the development of safety management and training programs at several of its sites as critical.

With an increased emphasis on sound management practices and improved accountability for assuring proper management controls, the Institution recently completed a study to assess the effectiveness of its current management controls process. As a result of the study, recommendations were developed to improve the process and strengthen compliance with the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act. Implementation of these recommendations later this year will result in a revised and revitalized management controls program.

Responding to the recent enactment of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Institution has begun to identify performance measures to enhance its strategic planning and evaluation processes as part of ongoing restructuring. Meeting the requirements of GPRA will enable the Smithsonian to improve program effectiveness and accountability by promoting a new focus on results, service, and quality. Likewise, the Smithsonian is closely examining the Administration's National Performance Review (NPR) and the related executive orders that are emerging.

Federal legislation and internal studies conducted at the Smithsonian have identified a need for improved access to Smithsonian exhibits, programs, and facilities. As the legal rights of individuals with disabilities have been more publicized, the expectations for access and the demand for services among staff and visitors with disabilities has grown dramatically. The Smithsonian views its responsibility to increasing accessibility as being more than simply the removal of barriers to meet minimum standards but instead as a philosophy and a design mind-set that serves a diverse public, today and in the future. An excellent example of the realization of increased access was made possible in the renovation of the Freer Gallery of Art.

To expand its Accessibility Program, the Smithsonian has sought and continues to seek funding for such accessibility services as interpreters for deaf visitors and readers for

visitors who are blind or cannot read printed materials. As important as these immediate needs, however, is training for Smithsonian staff on new developments in the design of accessible exhibitions, publications, programs, and facilities. The technical issues associated with programmatic access include: balancing the level of lighting needed by those with impaired vision against the conservation requirements of the objects being viewed; printing exhibit labels of the most appropriate size and type; captioning and audio-describing fdms; placing objects and labels in cases so that they can be seen by those with vision impairments and those in wheelchairs; printing attractive large-type guide books to accompany exhibitions, using information technology in new and creative ways to increase access; and renovating and building facilities to enable physical access into all public and staff spaces. Resources are critical if the Smithsonian is to meet accessibility requirements, fulfill the expectations of its visitor and staff population, and model accessibility programs and services for other similar organizations.

Gender and racial-ethnic equity in employment is also an important priority at the Institution. As of September 1993, the Smithsonian employed 3,589 men and 3,182 women. The total workforce of 6,771 was 57.5 percent Caucasian, 33.6 percent African American, 4.8 percent Hispanic, 3.2 percent Asian American, and 0.9 percent American Indian. Of the 325 Hispanics, 146 (44.9 percent) were employed in Panama.

The Smithsonian is committed to attracting a culturally diverse staff and to increasing the number of women and minorities in the senior and professional ranks. Since 1991, the Special Recruitment and Employment Initiatives Branch in the Office of Human Resources has assisted in recruiting minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, especially for executive- and upper-level administrative, professional, and curatorial positions. The Institution has also recognized its responsibility to "educate" its own potential professional work force. Some offices and museums are using summer internships for high school and college students, especially minority students, to encourage interest in Smithsonian and museum careers.

Over the last few years, the Institution has made progress in achieving gender and racial/ethnic equity throughout the Smithsonian work force. As the size of the work force decreases, however, special care will be required to ensure that these gains are not eroded.

Administrative and Service Support

Those charged with administrative and service support at the Institution are committed to providing quality administrative services that enable the Institution to advance its research, education and public service goals.

The Institution's financial and administrative services offices introduced Total Quality Management (TQM) principles several years ago. The Smithsonian's practice of TQM encourages increased productivity through continuous improvement in customer services to

meet the needs of those who rely on administrative services. Under the guidance of quality improvement teams, the Smithsonian hopes to maximize programs and services to the public, use scarce budget and human resources more wisely, and increase employee involvement and satisfaction. In the past year, a set of recommendations adjusting the structure and approach to the improvement process was implemented. It established a second phase of actions within the new quality structure that will allow for more rapid improvements in products and services. To facilitate this effort, a full-time coordinator was hired to help integrate quality improvement initiatives with day-to-day operations.

Based on continuing resource constraints, recommendations from several internal and external reviews, including a team from the Private Sector Council; and a commitment to the continuous improvement of the quality of financial and administrative services, certain realignments emerged which offered immediate opportunities to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. As a result, several organizational realignments and consolidations were implemented at the beginning of fiscal year 1994. These realignments represent a more rational grouping of interrelated/interdependent functions within existing financial and administrative organizations and will result in more effective use of resources and provision of services. Other studies are underway which could result in additional realignments of organizations and/or functions at a later date.

Strengthening of information systems continues to be an area of special emphasis at the Institution. Increasingly complex research, education, and business demands for information exceed the capabilities of the Institution's existing technologies. Pressing needs include replacement of aging personal computer equipment, access to current research information through high-speed networks such as Internet, and the improvement of the systems that store and process information about the collections. Through the Information Resource Management (IRM) Vision Project, Institution-wide planning is under way to identify system needs, place them in order of priority, and develop a strategy to attain them. The recruitment of a new senior information officer will assure that the outcomes of the IRM Vision Project are fulfilled.

The benefits of investing in the administrative and service base are exemplified in the new financial system. A major enhancement of the Institution's fiscal management, the new system will serve as the central source of the Institution's financial information and will meet Institution-wide information and reporting needs. The strengths of the system include its ability to handle a high volume of transactions and its sophistication in producing flexible reports, screens, and user aids.

Outreach and Educational Programs

The Smithsonian's final priority during this period of downsizing and streamlining of operations and programs is to retain, to the fullest extent possible, its key outreach and

educational programs. Many efforts to widen and diversify the Smithsonian's audience and programs and to educate all its visitors and the American public are underway.

As a major repository of cultural symbols, the Smithsonian, as Secretary Adams has written, cannot remain isolated "within its monumental buildings along the national Mall, merely contenting itself with the audiences, constituencies, and disciplinary approaches it already serves and waiting for the storm of change to subside." Instead, "a readiness to encourage and respond to diversity is key." Today's growing under served populations expect representation of their interests, contributions, and cultural history in the nation's largest museum complex. The Smithsonian has actively responded by pursuing development of the National Museum of the American Indian, the National African American Museum Project, and the Americas Endeavor. These new entities will provide many opportunities for research and programs about under served and diverse cultures.

In recognition of the need for outreach programs directed to specific cultures, the Secretary established the Latino Task Force, a group of people from outside of the Institution, responsible for critiquing and recommending actions the Smithsonian can take to better address the needs of the Latino population. The Institution expects to receive the recommendations of the Latino Task Force in May 1994. The recommendations will enable the development of a comprehensive strategic plan to increase the Latino presence in the Institution's programming, collections, and staff.

To expand its Latino initiatives, the Institution is seeking a Latino programming pool in the FY 1995 request to Congress to support the development of exhibitions, the acquisition of collections, and the undertaking of educational initiatives across the Smithsonian that will permit the accomplishments of Latinos to be shared more widely with the public. The Institution plans to disperse these funds annually to bureaus for pilot projects in exhibitions, collections, and education. In the short-term, these new pilot programs will permit the Smithsonian, through creative experimentation at the museum level, to expand its coverage of the Latino culture as well as its Latino audience. With evidence of positive outcomes from the pilot programs, external funding can also be projected to increase in the long-term.

Through its exhibitions, scholarly and public symposia, publications, educational programs, traveling exhibitions, and radio and television productions, the Smithsonian has always sought to increase its audience, not only in sheer numbers but in diversity. Individual museums on the Mall have in recent years planned exhibitions and programs that highlight the unique contributions various cultural groups have made to American society. For those unable to visit the Mall, the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service has expanded and diversified its offerings, thus making exhibits concerning the art and social history of various cultural groups available throughout the nation.

The Smithsonian has an important role as an educational institution. As a major research center and as a national trust for an unequaled collection of treasures from the arts, humanities, and sciences, the Smithsonian provides formal and informal learning experiences

to individuals both young and old from many different cultural, educational, and economic backgrounds.

Because of a national need for improved educational practices and the Smithsonian's distinctive ability to help meet that need, the Institution has selected precollege educational initiatives as an area of emphasis. The educational departments of Smithsonian museums offer a vast range of school tours and related structured experiences to students annually. For example, the Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery work closely with community groups. locally and nationally, in developing public programs that expand the public's awareness of Asian cultures beyond the focus of specific exhibitions. Prototype programs at the National Air and Space Museum bring students, their families, and their teachers to the museum for demonstrations, tours, and short talks, stressing learning as a family experience.

Through a central unit, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Smithsonian creates models for sharing Institution-based research, collections, and learning with schools and school systems nationally. The programs offered include professional development courses for teachers, internships and other learning experiences for students, and classroom materials tied directly to the school curricula.

The National Science Resources Center (NSRC), another central unit, is a joint effort of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences. Established to improve the teaching of science in the nation's schools, the NSRC collects and disseminates information about exemplary science teaching resources, develops innovative science curriculum materials, and sponsors outreach activities to help school districts develop and sustain effective hands-on science programs. The NSRC's two largest programs are the Science and Technology for Children curriculum project, which is producing an inquiry-centered science program for grades one through six, and the National Science Education Leadership (NSEL) initiative, which provides leadership training and technical assistance to school district personnel and scientists. In conjunction with the NSEL initiative, the NSRC has begun to establish partnerships with a number of industrial corporations to stimulate and support science education reforms in the school districts near their plant locations. To date, corporations involved in the partnership program include: Dow Chemical Company; Hewlett-Packard; Miles, Inc.; Digital Equipment Corporation; Merck; Polaroid: and Dupont.

Other outreach programs, such as those offered by The Smithsonian Associates (TSA), meet needs for continuing education through courses, workshops, study tours, seminars, performances, and media programs. The recent consolidation of the Smithsonian National Associate Program (SNAP) and the Resident Associate Program (RAP) into TSA combines these two programs in a manner which draws on each of their strengths. The continuing-education strengths of one program and the member-benefit strengths of the other, when joined, create a stronger, more effective membership and educational organization.

Through its publications, the Smithsonian is also able to reach a large segment of the public. For example, the Smithsonian magazine, with a circulation of 2.1 million, appeals to

a diverse audience with articles on environment, conservation, history, sciences, and the arts.

The Institution is experimenting with new forms of outreach, including initial movement onto the "national information highway." Smithsonian Online was recently launched on America Online, a commercial computer network with 250,000 subscribers. Smithsonian Online offers a variety of outreach services, including providing information about Smithsonian-wide educational materials and programs to schools and teachers nationally. In its first full month of operation, the service had a total of 23,265 log-ons. Evaluation of the impact of these many educational programs will guide decisions about future efforts at the Smithsonian.

THE CAPITAL PROGRAM

The Smithsonian's capital program, encompassing accounts for the repair and restoration of buildings and supporting infrastructure and construction at all sites, including the National Zoological Park, represents considerable sums and long-term investments in facilities that make all Smithsonian activities and programs possible. In the current financial context, the following summary presents only those projects clearly related to the mission and priorities of the Institution that are likely to be continued in the following years (see Exhibit 4, page 38 and Exhibit 6, page 42).

Repair and Restoration (R&R)

The Smithsonian's responsibility for its museum buildings and other facilities requires a continuing program of repair and maintenance and renovations and restorations. The objectives of the Federal repair and restoration program are to provide efficiently operated, safe, and accessible facilities for research, education, and care of collections.

The Smithsonian facilities, located in both temperate and tropical climates, total more than 6.3 million square feet of building space. The maintenance and preservation of these facilities to ensure their long-term operation is a complex and major challenge. These facilities not only house research and collections management activities, but also a wide range of exhibitions in fields of science, history, technology, and art. The Institution also operates and maintains space for restoration, storage, aircraft and spacecraft displays, conservation, and education.

Federal appropriations provide for building repairs, restoration, and remodeling to bring buildings into compliance with life-safety and health regulations and to replace or renovate major building equipment or components. In past years, funding for maintenance. repair, and preservation of buildings has not kept pace with need, resulting in a currently identified total of $251 million in unfunded R&R requirements. To make progress in reducing the volume of this work, the R&R program will require at least $37 million of annual funding throughout the next ten years.

Projects in the R&R category include replacing major building systems and components that have outlasted their useful lives. Good stewardship requires the Institution to undertake cyclical renewal of building components and systems such as the heating. ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The majority of the HVAC equipment is now more than 25 years old and requires replacement to avoid system failures. Without extraordinary attention to the specific needs of its older buildings now, equipment and systems failure could force the closing of significant portions of buildings dedicated to exhibitions, collections storage, and research activities. Complete replacement of aging

HVAC and other building systems will ensure continued operation and preservation of the buildings.

The R&R accounts also provide for routine R&R at all sites including general repairs; facade, roof, and terrace repairs; fire detection and suppression projects; access, safety, and security projects; utility system repairs; roadways and bridges; and advanced planning and inspection for such projects. By grouping a facility's tasks together, the Institution saves money and can schedule staff and collections relocations to avoid repeated disruption to building activities. During the next five years, the Institution will seek funding to accomplish the following major repair and restoration projects:

installation of fire detection and suppression systems required throughout Smithsonian buildings to meet current fire codes;

removal or containment of dangerous substances, such as asbestos, remaining in many buildings;

modification of Smithsonian buildings to increase accessibility to disabled persons;

repair or replacement of roofs, skylights, and windows at several buildings;

replacement of electrical systems and of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at the American Art and Portrait Gallery, American History, Arts and Industries, Natural History, the National Zoological Park, and Smithsonian Institution (Castle) buildings.

upgrading steam systems at the Zoo;

renovation of three bridges at the Zoo;

development of an engineering plan for resurfacing, reconstructing, and repairing the Blue Road at the Zoo; and

resolution of increased car and bus traffic congestion and pressure on street parking in the Rock Creek neighborhood.

Const

uction

Plans for facility development in the coming years represent a major investment in the continuing vitality of existing programs, including collections management, research, public exhibitions and education, and other services.

The highest purpose in the Institution's capital expansion program is to meet the requirement for adequate and appropriate space in which to house, care for, and study the

collections. The Institution has developed a comprehensive plan to satisfy space needs for the care of its diverse collections for the next 20 years. Components of this program include the Air and Space Museum Extension, the Cultural Resources Center of the American Indian Museum, and the Suitland Collections Center. The National Museum of Natural History East Court Building will help alleviate storage space problems in that museum after the renovation of major building systems is complete.

The Smithsonian must also provide space for exhibitions and public activities associated with displaying current collections, such as the Museum of the American Indian (Custom House and Mall Museum) and the Air and Space Museum Extension, and meet expectations for new programs such as the African American Museum Project. The National Museum of Natural History East Court Building will increase exhibition space by returning galleries now used to house collections and staff activities to public use. A final purpose of the Smithsonian's capital program is to reduce reliance on leased space for administrative and support activities. The following sections present the key elements of the Institution's planned construction program.

PROJECTS IN THE NEAR TERM

National Air and Space Museum Extension

The collections storage, care, and exhibition needs of the National Air and Space Museum present a particular challenge that cannot be met through development of storage facilities at Suitland. The Institution has therefore focused on a different solution for these collections. Existing air and space collections are presently stored in overcrowded conditions in old and deteriorated buildings with little climate control. The size of many contemporary aircraft and spacecraft now prohibits the Museum from adding them to the Garber facilities collections; it is also physically impossible to transport many important artifacts to the existing Garber buildings. Thus a separate facility is planned for air and space collections at nearby Dulles International Airport. In addition to providing improved storage, care, and access for the collections, the National Air and Space Museum Extension will also resolve a significant limitation on the Museum's ability to display large artifacts. Although the proposed Extension is primarily a collections facility, some display and storage space will enable visitors to view aircraft and spacecraft and understand the social, environmental, and scientific changes they have fostered.

National Museum of the American Indian, Cultural Resources Center and Mall Museum

The Institution plans to construct the Cultural Resources Center of the National Museum of the American Indian facility to provide proper housing and study for the collections of the National Museum of the American Indian (see Exhibit 5. page 41). The Center will be located adjacent to the Museum Support Center in Suitland. Maryland. The

one million cultural artifacts in the Heye Collection are now densely warehoused and largely inaccessible in the Bronx storage facility in New York. Library, film, and archival collections (about 250,000 items) are located elsewhere in the city. In addition to conservation, preservation, and collections-related research and training activities, the Suitland building will provide space for exhibits preparation and other nonpublic functions, thus freeing space in the future Mall Museum for public activities. Completion of the building will provide a "home" for the Museum's collections and space where Native American visitors can interact with them in appropriate settings, create a focal point for tribal and international outreach programs, and establish vital support functions for initial installation and continued operation of the public programs in the Mall Museum.

The Mall Museum will provide a focus for exhibitions and public programming of the National Museum of the American Indian. The Institution will construct the museum building on the last remaining site on the Mall, the area bounded by Third Street, Maryland Avenue, Fourth Street, and Jefferson Drive. Completion of the museum building will allow establishment of a fully functioning museum authorized by P.L. 101-185.

National Museum of Natural History, East Court Building

In recent years, to accommodate staff growth, the National Museum of Natural History has compressed collections and closed several exhibit halls. The relocation of part of the collections to the Museum Support Center will alleviate some of the space problem in the Museum, but not enough to maintain optimal conditions for the Museum's many programs, particularly over the next decade during renovation of the building systems. The East Court Building will provide essential staging space to house the Museum's programs and collections during this renovation and allow redistribution of staff and collections areas at the end of the construction period. The long-term benefit will be improved care of and access to the collections and the return of space to exhibition and other public activities.

National Zoological Park

The National Zoological Park complex includes 163 acres in Rock Creek Park (Washington, D.C.) and a 3,150-acre Conservation Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia. Since 1890, exhibition and public educational functions have centered at the Rock Creek Park location. Conservation, research, and breeding functions take place at both Rock Creek and Front Royal. The National Zoological Park maintains an active construction program at both the Rock Creek and Front Royal locations. The following major projects are planned over the next five year period:

• Rock Creek: Aquatic Exhibits - The theme of Living in Water - the cradle of life on Earth — will be illustrated by new aquatic exhibits and an exhibit complex that will provide an excellent opportunity to educate and entertain the general public about a wide

range of engaging and important groups of animals. For most of its existence the Zoo has emphasized terrestrial animals almost exclusively despite the facts that more than 60 percent of the world's vertebrate animals are fish and that the general public knows little about aquatic animals. The new aquatic exhibits will include a full range of fish, aquatic mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The exhibits will emphasize freshwater animals, but will also include marine animals since two thirds of the earth's surface is ocean. Together with the Amazonia exhibit, which opened in November 1992, the aquatic exhibits will fill the last gap in the Zoo's presentation to the public of representatives of all the major animal groups and their inter-related plants.

The aquatic exhibits will comprise approximately three acres and include four components that, together, will fully embody the BioPark philosophy. The finished Amazonia Exhibit displays a diversity of fishes, invertebrates, birds, and amphibians, as well as vegetation in a natural habitat, a tropical river. As an extension of the Amazonia Exhibit. the Zoo is now furnishing its 8,000-square-foot Amazonia Gallery to educate the visitor about global problems and tropical biology through close-up views of the complex web of cooperation and competition among plants and animals. The Aquatic Trail, a cluster of exhibits near the Amazonia Exhibit, will focus on the biology of life in water, and on conservation efforts for sea otters and penguins. The first element will be a Living in Water module that, because of non-availability of staffing, is being radically reconceptualized to involve interactive low maintenance exhibits. These will illustrate the crucial role of water in the origin and maintenance of life on Earth. They now cannot be completed before 1997. In addition to those aquatic exhibits planned through FY 1997, the Zoo's Master Plan includes further aquatic habitats.

• Rock Creek: Grasslands Exhibitions - The Zoo is now developing a chain of major grasslands exhibits spanning about six acres. They will be populated by a variety of appropriate animals and will emphasize grasses as the botanically dominant elements of important ecosystems, and the history, where appropriate, of human interactions with these plants and systems. In particular, the significance of cultivation of plants and domestication of animals — the origins and effects of agriculture — will be a major theme. The Grasslands exhibition will present three major habitats, the North American Prairies, the South American Grasslands, and the African Grasslands. The African Grasslands exhibition will present the African Savannah Grasslands and the Australian Grasslands. Concept planning is complete. Funding for a later phase, the Forest Exhibition, will be requested in FY 1998.

• Rock Creek: Children's Facility - Beginning in FY 1997, the Zoo plans to construct a Children's Facility that will provide exciting experiential education for children and their families. The two-acre facility, to be known as the Rabitat, will include both an indoor and an outdoor activity garden with natural animal exhibitions, a human-size game maze, and a sensory garden maze. Due to open in the summer of 1998, the Rabitat will combine fantasy with a natural environment to help children learn about a habitat and the animals that share it. This facility will complement the grasslands exhibit at a different and greater level of physical participation.

• Front Royal: Maintenance Facility - To improve operations, security, and accessibility, the Zoo will consolidate into one area the maintenance trade shops that serve the Conservation and Research Center. The Zoo will renovate and modify a group of supply buildings to serve as the new trade shops and to provide parking for the Center's motor pool operations and off-site employees. The Center will use approximately 16,000 square feet of the space the present shops vacate for expanded research laboratories and student housing. With design funds requested in FY 1995, the facility is expected to open in January 1999.

• Front Royal: Multi-Purpose Animal Facility - This proposed new facility will provide needed additional space to support research and breeding programs for small to medium-sized endangered species of mammals. This 29,000 square-foot facility at Front Royal will utilize the same passive solar heat/natural light that has proven so successful in the small animal facility devoted to conservation and improved animal health. The Zoo plans to begin construction in 2000 and to open the facility in 2001.

PROJECTS PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE

Suitland Collections Center

The central feature of the Institution's plan to resolve collections storage, care, and study space deficiencies is development of a complex of buildings on the site of the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland. The recently completed Master Plan for the Suitland properties confirms that buildable land exists to accommodate the estimated three million square feet of storage, collections management, conservation and collections-based research support space that will be needed in the next 20 years. The proposed function of this facility is discussed more fully on page 15 of this document.

General Post Office Building

In 1984 Public Law 98-523 authorized the transfer of the General Post Office Building from the General Services Administration to the Smithsonian, contingent upon the Institution's receiving funding to renovate it for museum use. The Institution is concerned about the long-term preservation of this historic landmark and is working with the General Services Administration to prepare a feasibility study of potential uses and renovation strategies for the building.

National Zoological Park, Window on Life Exhibit

To make its collection of living animals and plants available to all of the visiting public in sufficient detail, and provide interactive opportunity, or flexibility for advanced educational efforts, the Zoo proposes constructing Window on Life, a biological learning

center for students of all ages and for their teachers. This Center will have classrooms for group instruction and teacher training and laboratories in which talented students may conduct original research. Window on Life will anchor long-term mentoring programs and minority outreach programs by providing a scholarly commons for students and teachers who lack a place for contemplation and collegial interaction. The overall goal is to facilitate scientific, primarily biological, literacy in Washington area young people.

National Zoological Park, Conservation Research Laboratory

This facility will house, a sound analysis laboratory, physiological and genetic research laboratories, a classroom, and offices for research scientists. The proposed facility will provide the additional space needed to support the Conservation and Research Center's expanding programs in biodiversity research conservation training.

National Zoological Park, Animal Quarantine Expansion

The current, limited animal quarantine facilities require major expansion to accommodate growing programs in reintroduction and endangered species rescue while emphasizing veterinary care and control of disease.

CONCLUSION

During the past ten years, the Smithsonian has operated in two distinctly different environments: a sustained period of program growth during one phase and, more recently, a period of restructuring to adjust to a decline in growth in its traditional funding sources. With an emphasis on directing funds toward a careful choice of Institutional priorities, creative means are being employed to meet the most critical goals of the Smithsonian. Opportunities for further enhancement of these goals require new approaches, such as the Smithsonian Fund for the Future's endowment-building efforts and the implementation of a strategic planning process Institution-wide.

As the Smithsonian approaches its sesquicentennial celebration in 1996, continued growth and strength in the future require tradeoffs and wise choices. To lead this effort, a new Secretary and the Commission on the Future of the Smithsonian Institution will help Smithsonian leaders shape a vision of how the Institution can most effectively fulfill its mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge" as it moves into the 21st century. The Smithsonian can point with pride to the quality and depth of its research, the quality and range of its collections, and the quality and relevance of its presentations through exhibitions and other forms of outreach. Long-term choices resulting in a stable infrastructure and restoration of financial equilibrium will allow the Institution to fulfill its commitment to the public, retain its strong national presence, and choose the future.

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