Hall of Records Commission

Minutes of a Meeting
held at Nichols House
As guests of Dr. and Mrs. William R. Brody
of The Johns Hopkins University
May 29, 1997

Call to Order by the Chairman

The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. by the Chairman

Present were:

The Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Comptroller of the Treasury, Chairman
The Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Vice Chairman
William R. Brody, M.D., President of The Johns Hopkins University
The Honorable Richard N. Dixon, Treasurer
Mr. Richard E. Israel, Assistant Attorney General
Ms. Annie K. Kronk, Special Assistant to the President of The Johns Hopkins University
Gerald P. Walls, representing Eugene Lynch, Secretary of Department of General Services
Dr. Whitman H. Ridgway, representing Dr. Donald N. Langenberg, Chancellor, University of Maryland
Jack S. Griswold, representing Dennis Fiori, Director, Maryland Historical Society
Steven M. Ports, representing Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., President of the Senate

Special Guest

Matthew P. Lalumia, Esq., Chairman, Maryland Commission on Artistic Property

Staff:

Welcome and Introduction of Special Guest

• [Before the meeting formally came to order, Dr. Brody welcomed the Commission to Nichols House and gave the members a brief history of the house. Mrs. Brody asked Dr. Papenfuse to explain the role and function of an Archives.]

• The Secretary thanked Dr. and Mrs. Brody for hosting the meeting and luncheon and presented Mrs. Brody with a portfolio of historical Maryland maps. He also thanked The Johns Hopkins University for supplying the electronic equipment for the meeting and an assistant to help with the setting up.

  The Secretary introduced Matthew Lalumia who is the new Chairman of the Maryland Commission on Artistic Property

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

• The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

• Dr. Papenfuse noted that there were also two special meetings of the Hall of Records Commission held since the last meeting:

1. The Special Joint Session of the Legislature on March 7, 1997, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Women's Caucus

2. Presentation of the First Citizen Award to Oden Bowie, March 26, 1997

On a motion by Judge Bell, the above ceremonial meetings of the Commission were approved as presented.

Records Retention and Disposal Schedules

• Records designated for retention or disposal since the last Commission meeting were approved unanimously on a motion by Judge Bell.

Old Business

• There was no old business to come before the Commission.

Staff Activities

• Dr. Papenfuse noted that staff activities are reported in the Archives' biweekly newsletter The Archivists' Bulldog which is sent to each Commission member. The current issue of The Bulldog, as well as previous issues, are available on the Archives' web site.

Recent Acquisitions

• Dr. Papenfuse said that the Archives' web site has lists of government records at the Archives' as well as private collections, including the newspaper collection which is the largest in the state.
• Dr. Papenfuse said that the Archives had used funds from the Radoff Fund to acquire a Bible from a branch of the Carroll family in either South Carolina or Texas.

• Dr. Papenfuse said that the Archives is now involved in the litigation between the state and the tobacco companies. The lawyers for both sides want to know everything the state has relating to tobacco. He demonstrated for the Commission how the Archives is making these records available electronically. The law firms will be able to access the databases through the Archives' web site and, if the document has already been scanned, download a copy of it. If it has not been scanned, a copy of it can be ordered electronically. The lawyers will first have to purchase password access to the documents.
• Dr. Papenfuse told the Commission that a great deal of the index accessing of the Archives' records was dependent on volunteers. An important example of the valuable work that these volumteers is doing is Dr. Carson Gibbs' work on the Early Settlers of Maryland. He explained that, in order to encourage people to settle in Maryland, Lord Baltimore offered so many acres per person for each settler brought with him to the colony. These grants of land were called "headrights" and the system was in existence from 1633 - 1683. A previous index of these early settlers had listed some 27,000 names, and Dr. Gibbs had found another 6,000 new names. The Archives is in the process of publishing these in a book and electronically on the Archives' web site.

• Dr. Papenfuse said that the Legislature had helped the Archives to obtain funding to reinstate the biographical research which had stopped for lack of funds for a number of years. He said that the focus will be on the first ladies and official hostesses, governors, and legislators.

  Publications Featuring the Records at the Archives

  • Dr. Papenfuse distributed copies of the Treasurer's Annual Report which reflected Treasurer Dixon's interest in the Civil War and used images from the Archives' photographic collections.

  • Dr. Papenfuse also distributed copies of the book The Evils of Necessity about Robert Goodloe Harper by Eric Robert Papenfuse which was based upon a letter found in private hands and now at the Archives on microfilm.

  Education and Outreach

  • Dr. Papenfuse told the Commission about the recent program aired on MPT about the work of Marion E. Warren, one of Maryland's most distinguished photographers, and his daughter Mame. Mr. Warren's collection of photographs is now at the Archives and the show emphasized the importance of the Archives in preserving his work.

  • Dr. Papenfuse also told the Commission that documentary materials from the Archives are used in the history courses that he teaches at The Johns Hopkins University. He showed some of the research papers that his students in his History of Baltimore class have put on the world wide web as part of the course work.

Administrative Matters

• Dr. Papenfuse requested approval from the Commission for two weeks of his upcoming trip to England be counted as official time as he will be doing research on watermarks and the financing of the founding of the Colony of Maryland.
  On a motion from Judge Bell, the Commission approved the request.

• The National Postal Museum has request the loan of the Archives' copy of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence by Ann Catherine Goddard, one of the rarest and most important original documents in the Archives' collection. The Goddards were instrumental in the establishment of the postal service during the Revolutionary War and the musuem is very interested in borrowing the document for temporary display.
  On a motion from Dr. Brody, the Commission approved the loan of the document.

• Dr. Papenfuse told the Commission that a dealer has offered the Archives the papers of former Vice President Spiro Agnew's chief of staff, Arthur Sohmers, for $16,000. He said that an inspection of the papers has revealed that there is little in them of permanent historical value and requested permission from the Commission to decline the offer.
  On a motion from Treasurer Dixon, the Commission approved the request to decline the offer.

• Dr. Papenfuse told the Commission that the Archives has now run out of space to store paper records and the backlog of demand for the Archives to accept such records is growing daily, especially from the courts. He also told the Commission that one way in which the Archives has come to grips with the growing electronic world is by becoming the nerve center for the Annapolis campus which allows the Archives to have access to the permanent records. Dr. Papenfuse said that the result of these factors is that the Archives needs to expand to accommodate three areas of rapid growth:
  • Space for more paper records;
    
  • Expanded electronic classroom for the training of government officials and employees and teachers in the use of the electronic world; and
  • A facility where people can come to learn about state government and how it works. This facility, on the front of the present Archives' building would be a gateway to state government.

  Dr. Papenfuse said that the expansion would add about 60,000 square feet to the existing building, just about doubling its size. The estimated cost is $6 - 7 million and planning needs to begin immediately. Dr. Papenfuse asked permission from the Commission to submit a letter to the Director of Budget and Management requesting $10,000 to draw up plans which would be submitted to the Commission in the fall.

  Dr. Brody asked Dr. Papenfuse to break down the 60,000 sq. ft. expansion. Dr. Papenfuse said that 40 - 45,000 sq. ft. would be for the storage of paper records and the rest for expanding the electronic teaching facilities and the new orientation center. He also said that the plan would probably require extending existing easements with the Naval Academy.
  On a motion from Judge Bell, the Commission approved the request.

• Dr. Papenfuse told the Comission that the Archives and the Anne Arundel County Schools system were about to be awarded a grant of $170,000, about $100,000 which will come to the Archives for training teachers in the use of the technology of the internet and the use of original document facsimilies in the classroom. The Archives will maintain a web server for the school system which will provide the schools with access to information about Maryland state government as well as to the teaching materials available at the Archives.

Presentations to Comptroller Goldstein, Judge Bell and Dr. Brody

Dr. Papenfuse presented to Comptroller Goldstein a framed copy of the Baltimore Sun feature on him with an inscription marking the Comptroller's election as Chairman of the Hall of Records Commission. Dr. Papenfuse presented a framed copy of the Baltimore Sun showing the photograph of the Court of Appeals having its photograph taken to Judge Bell, with an inscription marking his election as Vice Chairman of the Hall of Records Commission. Dr. Papenfuse to presented to Dr. Brody a framed copy of the Baltimore Sun article about his inauguration as president of The Johns Hopkins University with an inscription thanking him for hosting the meeting of the Commission. All three of the newspaper articles were deacidified in the Archives' conservation lab.

Adjournment

There being no other business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Approved by the Hall of Records Commission, May 29, 1997-

____________________________________________
The Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Chairman


____________________________________________ 
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Secretary