Descriptive Entry

These records document the activities of the Assistant Secretary for Public Service in the 1970s and 1980s, with a small amount of material dating back to 1968. The records concern the offices reporting to the Assistant Secretary for Public Service, including the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, the Smithsonian Institution Press, the Office of Public Affairs, Smithsonian Magazine, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Symposia and Seminars, the Resident Associates, the Division of Performing Arts, the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies, the Office of Telecommunications, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, and the Visitors' Information and Associates' Reception Center. The relations of the Assistant Secretary for Public Service with other Smithsonian offices are also well documented. Also included is material on the exhibitions Aditi: A Celebration of Life and the Festival of India. Of special interest are the records of the Edinburgh International Festival, 1984, in which the Smithsonian participated with two conferences and a number of musical events. The Institution also mounted the largest exhibition which had ever traveled, called Treasures from the Smithsonian Institution at the Royal Scottish Museum.

Historical Note

Julian T. Euell was named Acting, and then Assistant Secretary for Public Service in 1973. He held the position until 1983, when Peter Seitel succeeded him and served for a year. Ralph Rinzler held the office, 1984- .