providing legal assistance to these clients. The Corporation establishes maximum income levels for clients based on family size, urban and rural differences, and cost-of-living variations. Using these maximum income levels and other financial factors, the Corporation's appraisal of the legal needs of the For further information, contact the Office of Communications, Legal Services Corporation, 750 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20002–,250. Phone, 202–336–8800. One hundred fifty years old, the Smithsonian Institution is an independent trust instrumentality of the United States that fosters the increase and diffusion of knowledge. The world's largest museum complex, the Smithsonian includes 16 museums and galleries, the National Zoo, and research facilities in several States and the Republic of Panama. The Smithsonian holds more than 140 million artifacts and specimens in its trust for the American people. The Institution, a respected center for research, is dedicated to public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, sciences, and history. The Smithsonian Institution was created by act of August 10, 1846 (20 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), to carry out the terms of the will 1 Administered under a separate Board of Trustees. of British scientist James Smithson, who in 1826 had bequeathed his entire estate to the United States "to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." On July 1, 1836, Congress accepted the legacy and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust. In September 1838, Smithson's legacy, which amounted to more than 100,000 gold sovereigns, was delivered to the mint at Philadelphia. Congress vested responsibility for administering the trust in the Smithsonian Board of Regents, composed of the Chief Justice, the Vice President, three Members of the Senate, three Members of the House of Representatives, and nine citizen members appointed by joint resolution of Congress. To carry out Smithson's mandate, the Institution: -performs research; -publishes the results of studies, explorations, and investigations; -preserves for study and reference more than 140 million objects, works of art, and scientific specimens; -maintains exhibits representative of the arts, the sciences, and American history and culture; and -engages in programs of education and national and international cooperative research supported by its trust endowments; gifts, grants, and contracts; and funds appropriated to it by Congress. conducts independent studies of AfricanAmerican history, minority and ethnic studies, and the history of Anacostia and Washington, DC. The Education Department designs, prepares, and schedules programs that enhance current exhibitions and develops independent programs and activities to serve the needs and interests of the immediate neighborhood, as well as the broader community. These activities include guided tours, demonstrations, lectures, storytelling, teacher seminars, family workshops, conservation seminars, and performing arts programs. Administratively connected to the Anacostia Museum, the Center for African American History and Culture mounts exhibitions, sponsors public programs, and collects material representative of the black experience in performing arts, literature, and fine arts. For further information, contact the Anacostia Museum, 1901 Fort Place SE., Washington, DC 20020. Phone, 202-287-2060. Archives of American Art The Archives contains the Nation's largest collection of documentary materials reflecting the history of visual arts in the United States. The Archives gathers, preserves, and microfilms the papers of artists, craftsmen, collectors, dealers, critics, museums, and art societies. These papers consist of manuscripts, letters, notebooks, sketchbooks, business records, clippings, exhibition catalogs, tape-recorded interviews, and photographs of artists and their work. The extensive microfilm holdings include bodies of materials not belonging to the Archives but recorded by it with permission of the owner. The Archives' chief processing and reference center is in the historic Old Patent Office Building. The Archives has administrative offices in both Washington and New York. Regional branch offices, each with a complete set of microfilm duplicating the archives' collections, are located in Boston, Detroit, New York, and San Marino, CA. For further information, contact the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. Phone, 202–357–2781. |