Hall of Records, Annapolis Telephone: Colonial 8-3371
Saturdays and holidays: Colonial 8-3376

Record Center, State Office Building, Annapolis
Telephone: Colonial 8-3371

Record Center, 301 W. Preston Street, Baltimore I Telephone: 837-9000

The Hall of Records Commission was created by Chapter 18, Acts
of 1935. The Commission is an ex officio body. It supervises and con-
trols the Hall of Records and appoints the Archivist, who has charge
of the active management of the building and its contents.

State agencies as well as the counties, cities and towns of Maryland
are authorized to offer for deposit at the Hall of Records all files,
documents, and records not in current use. Should the Archivist
decline to accept the materials offered, permission to destroy them
may be requested from the Board of Public Works. If permission is
granted, a certificate of destruction must be filed at the Hall of
Records.

While many records are offered to the Hall of Records Commission
at the discretion of the custodians, all records which are in the court-
houses of the State and which were created prior to April 28, 1788,
the date of ratification of the United States Constitution by the
State of Maryland, must be deposited at the Hall of Records. The
records of all State agencies, boards, and commissions which arc
abolished or otherwise cease to function must also be transferred to
the custody of the Hall of Records Commission. The Commission is
authorized to prepare certified copies of all records in its custody.

State agencies are required by law to establish a continuing pro-
gram for the management of their records. The Commission provides
assistance and guidance in the development and furtherance of the
State Records Management Program. The program provides for the
use of records retention schedules which establish the period and man-
ner of retention of records. Such schedules must be approved by the
Hall of Records Commission, and when destruction is recommended,
they must also be approved by the Board of Public Works. Whenever
semi-current records having no permanent historical or administrative
value are scheduled to be maintained for a limited number of years
and then destroyed, they may be stored for this period in the two
Record Centers operated by the Hall of Records Commission. The Hall
of Records staff inspects the records and records management prac-
tices of all State agencies and reviews the proposals for the purchase
or rental of record equipment, storage space, and services (Code 1957,
Art. 41, sees. 171-81).

The Hall of Records staff microfilms or supervises the microfilming
of all current deeds, mortgages, and releases recorded in the court-
houses of the State, These microfilm copies are required to be de-
posited annually in the office of the Commissioner of the Land Office.
Copies of some of these films are also deposited with the State De-
partment of Assessments and Taxation for use in the preparation of
tax maps. Limited facilities are available for the filming of records
of the various State agencies.

By several Acts of Assembly, the Hall of Records has been desig-
nated as an official depository for the publications of all State agencies
(Code 1957, Art. 41, sec. 144) and for all codes published by local
governments, both county and municipal (Code 1957, 1960 Supp„ Art.
25, sec. 32A; Art. 23A, sec. 8B). The Hall of Records Commission also
edits, compiles, and publishes the MARYLAND MANUAL (Code
1957, 1960 Supp., Art. 41, sec. 104).