Call to Order by the Chairman
Chairman Robert C. Murphy called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m.
Present were:
Robert C. Murphy, Chairman and Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals
The Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Comptroller of the Treasury
Mrs. Pat Bruce, representing The Honorable Mary A. Conroy, House of
Delegates
Mr. Richard F. Pecora, representing Gene R. Lynch, Secretary, Department
of General Services
Dr. Whitman H. Ridgway, representing Dr. Donald N. Langenberg,
Chancellor, University of Maryland
Dr. Glenn Phillips, representing Dr. Earl S. Richardson, President,
Morgan State University
Mr. Richard E. Israel, Assistant Attorney General
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist and Secretary, Hall of Records
Commission
Christopher N. Allan, Deputy State Archivist
Patricia V. Melville, Archivist V, Maryland State Archives
Lynne MacAdam, Archivist V, Maryland State Archives
Mimi Calver, Archivist V, Maryland State Archives
Elaine Rice, Archivist IV, Maryland State Archives
Betsy Bodziak, Archivist IV, Maryland State Archives
Special Guests
Ms. Elizabeth Schaaf, Archivist, The Peabody Institute
Dr. Robert Sirota, Director, The Peabody Institute
Ms. Julie Andrews, Secretary to Judge Murphy
Welcome and Introduction of New Members and Guests
Dr. Papenfuse introduced the special guests and Archives' staff members Pat Melville, Lynne MacAdam, Mimi Calver, Elaine Rice and Betsy Bodziak.
Dr. Papenfuse noted that the date of the previous meeting of the Commission was the birthday of Comptroller Goldstein. The minutes of that meeting were amended to reflect the Commission's best wishes. Dr. Papenfuse also noted that the minutes for the previous meeting and the agenda for this meeting were transmitted by fax, cutting the costs of paper and postage.
On April 23, 1996, Dr. Papenfuse was the keynote speaker at the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the founding of Prince George's County. The Hall of Records Commission chair, Judge Robert Murphy also made remarks at this event, as did Governor Glendening.
On June 3, 1996, the Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis was renamed and dedicated in honor of Judge Robert C. Murphy who will retire in October of this year after 25 years as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. Dr. Papenfuse and a number of other members of the Commission were in attendance.
On a motion by Comptroller Goldstein both of the above ceremonial meetings of the Hall of Records Commission were approved as presented by Dr. Papenfuse.
Records designated for retention or disposal since the last Commission meeting were approved unanimously on a motion by Treasurer Dixon.
Dr. Papenfuse reported that a resolution of appreciation for former Treasurer and member of the Hall of Records Commission Lucille Maurer had been drafted but, unfortunately, she had died before it could be delivered. The Commission expressed its deep sympathy to the family and noted how much they appreciated her interest in and support of the work of the Commission. Dr. Papenfuse indicated that he would write a note of condolence to the family.
Dr. Papenfuse demonstrated the Archives' work on the move of the General Assembly to Frederick during the Civil War. The webpage was assembled in response to Treasurer Dixon's suggestion with regard to the chronology section in the Maryland Manual and represents the way in which historical information can be easily added to enhance the usefulness of the Archives web site.
Dr. Papenfuse reported that the Archives' staff is pursuing the matter of an IRS ruling on the tax-exempt status of the Endowment of the State Archives Fund.
Dr. Papenfuse noted that staff activities are reported regularly in the in-house newsletter, The Bulldog, which is now posted regularly on the World Wide Web.
On May 11, 1996, a plaque marking the burial of Cecilius Calvert was placed in St. Giles in the Fields Church in London, England. At the invitation of the Governor, Dr. Papenfuse attended the ceremonies. He showed the Commission some of the research he did while in England, including looking into the financial records of the Calvert family and watermarks on paper used and sold by the Jesuits that is found in use on official records, both in England and in Maryland. He also visited Kiplin Hall in Yorkshire, the home of George Calvert.
The Archives' staff is working with a number of state agencies, including the Comptroller's Office, to establish Web sites for them. For the Comptroller's Office, the Archives will be housing a site which will handle 6,000 inquiries a day and deliver as many as 12,000 tax forms a day.
Information about recent acquisitions of the Archives is available at the Archives' Web site.
While the Comptroller's Office and the General Assembly are working with us on the storage of electronic records of permanent value, many state agencies are not. Dr. Papenfuse said that there is a real danger that in ten years many of these electronic records will be lost. He said that it is possible that, in a few years, we will know more about the 17th century than about the late 20th century.
The Vital Records legislation, which was passed unanimously in this session of the General Assembly and signed by the Governor, is a model for legislation with regards to electronic records. Under this legislation, the permanent records will come to the Archives in a form that we can manage and keep.
Dr. Papenfuse noted that we are the only Archives in the world with a comprehensive guide to its collections available electronically on the Web. He showed the Commission, as an example, the 1784 will of Captain Berry from Orphans Court proceedings records. Comptroller Goldstein noted that the Berrys are a Calvert County family. Dr. Papenfuse also demonstrated the guide to religious records and showed how the Archives links to parish Web sites and they back to us. St. Margaret's Church was used as an example. He also explained the difference between the Internet which connects to the World Wide Web and the Intranet which a network internal to a building or a complex of buildings and which works very quickly and reliably. He stressed the need for the Archives to be an integral part of the State's fiber optic intranet in order to ensure the effective delivery of government information, such as the Maryland Manual, and to facilitate the transfer and preservation of electronic records of permanent value.
The State House and its dome and acorn have recently been the subject of intense interest. Dr. Papenfuse noted that a worker with DGS, while doing routine maintenance on the dome, discovered that the acorn was showing signs of rot. In the past few months, the Maryland Historical Trust has done some in-depth studies of the structure and determined that the acorn must be replaced. These studies have also revealed that most of the material is original. Dr. Papenfuse showed the Commission slides of the preliminary work as well as of the drawings by Charles Willson Peale showing the original colors the dome and acorn were painted. He noted that he hoped to pursue further research on the architect of the dome, Joseph Anderson and expected to have the assistance of one of his undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins this summer and throughout the next academic year.
Dr. Papenfuse noted that this was a momentous day because the Board of Public Works had, that morning, approved the final payment to the Peabody Institute and the transfer of the Peabody Art Collection to the state. This will take effect on June 28. He then demonstrated the on-line catalogue of the collection which the Archives has put up on its Web site. Dr. Papenfuse thanked Dr. Robert Sirota, Director of the Peabody Institute, and Elizabeth Schaaf, Archivist of the Peabody Institute, for all of their help with the transfer. He also noted the work of Archives' staff members Elaine Rice, Curator of Artistic Property, and Mimi Calver, Director of Exhibits and Outreach.
Dr. Sirota thanked Dr. Papenfuse and said that this agreement was the most enlighted partnership between a public trust and the private sector that he had ever witnessed. Ms. Schaaf noted that Dr. Papenfuse had done the early survey of the collection and saw its value. She thanked him for his early support.
Budget issues were deferred to the next meeting when the focus will be on the next fiscal year.
There being no other business to come before the Commission, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.
Approved by the Hall of Records Commission, March 3, 1997-
____________________________________________
Chairman
____________________________________________
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Secretary
Dr.
Edward C. Papenfuse
State Archivist
Email: If you have an Email account linked to your WEB browser, click here to activate your mail program to send an inquiry or message to me at archives@mdarchives.state.md.us or contact me at (410) 260-6403.
© Copyright 1996 Maryland State Archives