Agency Name: Maryland State Archives

Project Contact Person: Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist

Telephone: 410-974-3867  Fax:  410-974-3895

Project Need: Maryland Legal History On-Line, 1634--.

The Maryland State Archives will provide on-line access to Maryland legal history, 1634--.
There is a critical legal need for ease of access to the Constitutions, the Constitutional Conventions proceedings, session laws, proceedings of the General Assembly, and historical editions of compilations of the laws of Maryland.  Inquiries on the development of Maryland law and constitutional precedent currently require access to original source material that is increasingly difficult to locate and found in publications that are rapidly deteriorating. The creation of this resource will facilitate enhanced reference access and address a serious preservation problem.

Priorities to Achieve:

1. Bringing together all extant material found at the Maryland State Archives, the Maryland State Law Library, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Library of Congress, and other institutions to establish a comprehensive resource.

2. Using scanning technology as applied to the preservation of archival material to permit the Archives to demonstrate the practical application of technology for storing and retrieving record material on-line, permanently and reliably.

3. Developing a large collection of text retrievable material as a model of public access to record material applicable to all significant collections of public records.

4. Providing a user-friendly teaching environment in which state employees and the general public can learn how to effectively use electronic archival material in the workplace and at home.

Target Population:

The legal community, public officials, state employees, scholars, teachers, students, and the general public.

Reason for Target:

Very little expertise has been brought to bear on how to best integrate the technology of the internet and capability of personal computers with large quantities of electronic public records vital to the operation of State government.

Expected Results:

More effective access to primary sources for the constitutional and legal history of Maryland.

Maryland State Archives
December 18, 1997

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