  
Hall of Records Commission
Minutes of Meeting
at the Maryland State Archives
Electronic Classroom
11:30 am, April 19, 2007
|
Call to Order by the Chairman
The spring meeting of the Hall of Records
Commission began at 11:45 am, April 19, 2007, at the Maryland State Archives,
with Chief Judge Robert M. Bell presiding.
Attendees and Introduction
of Special Guests
Chief Judge Bell welcomed the following individuals
to their first Hall of Records Commission Meeting:
The Honorable Virginia P. Clagett, representing Speaker
of the House Mike Busch
Mr. Rob Rogers, representing Mr. Henry Stansbury,
President of the Maryland Historical Society
Ms. Bea Tignor, Ed.D., Deputy Secretary, representing
Secretary Alvin Collins, Department of General Services
Ms. Nicole Xander, representing Dr. William Brody,
President of Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Papenfuse presented to the members of the Hall
of Records Commission the book, "Washington Images: Rare Maps and Prints
from the Albert H. Small Collection." He explained that Albert Small
is one of the most important private collectors of maps and images relating
to the District of Columbia, and is also very well known as a builder and
developer in Washington, DC. The Archives is selling Mr. Small's
book, which had been on sale at the Washington DC Historical Society before
the Society closed its doors. Dr. Papenfuse also mentioned that Mr.
Small has a rare 1834 watercolor of the State House which Mr. Small has
loaned to the state in the past for exhibit in the State House. It
is hoped that someday it will be given to the State's art collection.
Special Announcements/Opening Remarks
In trying to hold meetings on days of significance
to Maryland history, Dr. Papenfuse reminded the Commission and meeting
attendees that April 19 is the day on which the first blood of the Civil
War was shed on the streets of Baltimore. The events of April 19
are critical to understanding the nature and the aftermath of the Civil
War; however, attention must also be paid to George William Brown, who
was very prominent on the firing line and was thrown into prison without
benefit of habeas corpus, deprived of all of his civil rights for a period
of time, and who ultimately came back to serve the city on the Supreme
Bench as a Judge. He cited Judge Brown's book, Baltimore &
the Nineteenth of April, 1861 ~ A Study of the War, as one of the most
interesting and best books written about the event. Even though this
book was reprinted by the Johns Hopkins University Press, it is now out
of print and no longer available for purchase except at used book stores.
Dr. Papenfuse informed the Commission that Google is successfully putting
online books that are out of print and out of copyright, to include significant
works on Maryland history. But for those items still in copyright,
Dr. Papenfuse is hoping to encourage the Johns Hopkins University Press
to work with the Archives to make some of the more important items that
they have reprinted available electronically through the Maryland State
Archives web site for personal and educational use.
Reports and Minutes of Previous Meetings
-
December
19, 2006
Dr. Phillips offered a motion of approval
of the minutes as amended, if amended, seconded by Dr. Ridgway and unanimously
approved, the Chairman concurring.
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Special Meetings and Celebratory Events
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December 20: Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, Mimi
Calver, and Elaine Bachmann attended the Board of Public Works Meeting
for the approval of the acquisition of the Washington Document and the
transfer of funds for that purpose to the Friends of the Maryland State
Archives
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February 15: Dr. Papenfuse met with Speaker
of the House Mike Busch concerning the Speaker's Society Awards, then attended
the Speaker's Society Awards Ceremony in the morning and attended the Speaker's
Society Dinner in the evening
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February 19: The Archives participated in the
dedication of the Washington Document at a special joint meeting of the
House of Delegates and the Senate, with the Governor in the Rotunda of
the State House
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Dr. Papenfuse thanked President Miller for providing
to him photographs from this event, and which Dr. Papenfuse showed to to
the Commission members and meeting attendees. One of the photographs
depicted Mr. Willard Hackerman, one of the principal donors towards the
acquisition of the Washington document, and Dr. Papenfuse also mentioned
the other major donor, Mr. Henry Rosenberg, whose donations together provided
the funds needed to match what the Legislature had so kindly appropriated
for the acquisition of the document.
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February 28: The Archives participated in a
Press Conference related to the rededication of the historic Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaque and Tree on the State House grounds,
after which Dr. Papenfuse, John Gartrell, Mimi Calver, and Elaine Bachmann
attended the Reception
in Government House
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Dr. Papenfuse stated that this plaque is the prototype
for interpreting anything on the State House grounds and explaining it
in a better context. John Gartrell conducted the research for this
event, including speaking with Taylor Branch and discovering the text of
Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech that he gave at the Morgan State University
commencement in 1958, before giving it on the Mall in 1963. Dr. King
gave this speech off the cuff, without notes, and there was no record of
it at Morgan State University. A reporter for the
Afro-American
newspaper was present at the Commencement in 1958 and took down every single
word of Dr. King's speech, which was published in the late Baltimore City
edition of the Afro-American. Because the late Baltimore City
edition of the Afro-American is not included in the microfilm of
the Afro-American that is generally available at most research institutions,
there had been no focus on it by scholars. The publisher of the Afro-American
graciously allowed the Archives to borrow and scan the original newspaper,
as well as make copies of it for presentation to Governor O'Malley, Chief
Judge Bell, Morgan State University, and the Black Caucus. The Archives
is also putting the speech online.
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March 28: Dr. Papenfuse and Mimi Calver attended
the First Citizen Ceremony honoring J. Joseph Curran, Jr., and William
Donald Schaefer
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Dr. Papenfuse thanked Senate President Miller for
allowing him to participate in the First Citizen Ceremony and having the
privilege and opportunity to introduce
the people who received the First Citizen Awards, an award given to people
who have distinguished themselves in public service in this state.
The two honorees were former Governor William Donald Schaefer and former
Attorney General Joe Curran.
Dr. Ridgway offered a motion of recognition
of the special meetings of the Commission as defined by standing resolution,
seconded by Mr. Freedlander and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.
Records Retention and Disposal
Dr. Ridgway offered a motion
of approval of Records Retention and Disposal Schedules as presented, seconded
by Mr. Freedlander and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.
Old Business
Archivist's Report and Staff Activities
(see the Maryland State Archives' Bulldog
and the Staff Activities
since last Hall of Records Commission meeting for additional details)
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Highlights since the last Hall of Records Commission meeting
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The Archives has been steadily attempting to preserve
the total history of Baltimore City’s Supreme Bench, which is now the Circuit
Court for Baltimore City. The Supreme Bench no longer exists as the
institution it was, which was several courts bonded together as one Supreme
Bench, with an extraordinarily distinguished history of judges who made
a remarkable series of decisions, many of which became precedents of national
law. The information is being gathered on an inaccessible working
web site and, once the process of reconstructing the public records is
complete, they will become accessible through our online Guide to Government
Records.
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Dr. Papenfuse displayed to the Commission and meeting
attendees two lithographs of St. John's College in 1861 when the military
encamped there during the war. The lithographer did at least two
lithographs for stationary that he sold to the soldiers. Dr. Papenfuse
stated that there are extraordinary stories to be told about the most interesting
items and that should be incorporated into the collections and made a part
of the totality of Maryland history.
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Dr. Papenfuse purchased the first lithograph from
e-Bay and then donated it to the Archives through the Friends of the Maryland
State Archives. It shows the parade grounds on which a young black
man saw a contingent of black soldiers parading. The young man followed
them to Baltimore, joined in, and ultimately was a litigant in the suit
before the Supreme Court that in 1915 struck down the voting restrictions
that had been created by local laws.
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The second lithograph is is privately owned; the
owner does not want to give it to the Archives, but he was willing to allow
the Archives to scan it and make it available as a representation of the
original. The owner also paid the Archives to conserve it.
The image is of Parole, on which was written a Valentine from a soldier
to his sweetheart. In the letter, the soldier describes meeting another
soldier who was a "substitute runner," a soldier who was trafficking in
Black substitutes. He was gathering them up in West Virginia, getting
them to Baltimore, and getting them to enlist in the place of other Black
soldiers as substitutes. Dr. Papenfuse reiterated that these items
portray an aspect of the war that is extraordinarily important to know
about, and it comes from a private collector who happened to salvage it
from e-Bay because he was interested in the image of Parole Camp that was
on it.
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Dr. Papenfuse brought to everyone's attention an
image that the Maryland Historical Society also has, that they used as
the final image of the Slavery Exhibit. It is a stereo card of Baltimore
on May 19 and depicts the largest parade of African Americans ever held
in America until 1963. Frederick Douglass spoke from the balcony
of the Gilmore House instead of from the platform erected for the occasion,
because the platform had collapsed under him. According to the newspaper
account, Mr. Douglass brushed himself off and said that it must have been
built by a Democrat. The Archives has had, since 1994, a document
packet for use by teachers and students of Mr. Douglass' speech, but there
was not an image of Mr. Douglass giving the speech. Dr. Papenfuse
thanked the Maryland Historical Society for allowing the Archives to use
the image as part of the document packet.
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Observations on the future of the Maryland State Archives
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Dr. Papenfuse stated that the Maryland State Archives
has created the finest electronic Archives in the United States bar none,
including the Library of Congress and the National Archives, thanks to
the support of the Judiciary. It will all exist soon in a mirror
site at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and potentially at
another site that might be considered a remotely accessible emergency back-up
environment. In the creation of mdlandrec.net, the Archives
established the model and the principle that any records that are created
by government are meant to be permanent, must and can begin and continue
their lives at the Maryland States Archives. Dr. Papenfuse noted
that most places wait twenty years before thinking about transferring paper
records to the Archives; however, in the electronic world, if a record
is created that is intended to be a permanent record, it ought to be at
the Archives from the moment it’s created, including legislative, judicial,
and executive records. If not, collective memory could be lost.
The Archives is now working on approved guidelines and regulations to make
this happen; these regulations may be ready for review by the next Hall
of Records Commission meeting. The Archives has already established
a prototype web site for the complete automation of transferring both paper
and electronic records to the Archives, and is working closely with the
Executive Department. Dr. Papenfuse has also met with Secretary Collins,
Department of General Services, about the need to have much closer cooperation
between the Records Management Division of General Services and the State
Archives.
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Dr. Papenfuse reviewed for the Commission and the
meeting attendees the Archives' work on Ground Rents, which was the biggest
single publicity issue for Baltimore City over the course of the Legislative
Session. The Archives provided the historical context for Ground
Rents, putting together a CD for the Legislature's working group that showed
the difficulty involved with the research. Garrett Power was noted
as the leading authority on Ground Rents. Dr. Papenfuse explained
that the Register of Ground Rents requires people to prove that they actually
own the Ground Rent when they submit a claim, something that will take
a lot of work and a need for interoperability between the State Department
of Assessments and Taxation and the Maryland State Archives. Secretary
Sullivan has agreed to a partnership between the Archives and the State
Department of Assessment and Taxation. Accessing the State Department
of Assessments and Taxation online Register will allow a link to mdlandrec.net
to find the actual source and legal reason why there is a ground rent in
the first place. The Legislature put into the Ground Rent Bill the
right to use any receipts from creating the online Register. An example
of the research involved for Ground Rents was prepared and placed on CD
for the Commission members, the subject of which was based on an actual
patron request for information on their own Ground Rent. The patron's
Ground Rent originated with a former Governor, John Eager Howard, who probably
owned almost a third of all of the Ground Rents in Baltimore City at one
time. His children continued to create ground rents and got into
an argument with each other about what share of his estate they ought to
get. In the process of the argument, somebody plotted out in beautiful
living color every single bit of property that Governor Howard owned, where
it was, and what ground rents were on it. These will satisfy about
ten percent of all of the Ground Rent in Baltimore City.
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Dr. Papenfuse ended this portion of the meeting with
the observation that there is a need to focus on having the resources to
cope with and manage permanent electronic records, and to build the facilities
necessary to house both permanent electronic and paper records. In
strengthening the understanding among all public officials and administrators,
the permanent records they create should, from their creation, be in some
permanent form at the Archives, live and accessible as the permanent record.
Recent Gifts, Deposits and Acquisitions
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Special
Collections
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Howard Freedlander donated to the Archives today
a collection of materials that had been collected by World War II Veteran
George Creighton, who is the uncle of Mrs. Freedlander. Mr. Freedlander
told the Commission and meeting attendees that Mr. Creighton was a Silver
Star recipient who never talked about his experiences in the War, but he
kept a binder of his memories and his understanding of his involvement
with the War. Dr. Papenfuse noted that Mr. Creighton was a neighbor,
from whom Dr. Papenfuse had never heard of his experiences in the War.
Dr. Papenfuse passed to the Commission a copy of a mimeographed newspaper
from the collection that was circulated in their neighborhood during World
War II, adding that it is the responsibility of all who are involved in
the business of holding onto the collective memory to preserve and make
accessible materials such as these. Otherwise, surviving family members
may just throw them away.
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Government
Records
Dr. Ridgeway offered a Resolution
of Appreciation for the recent gifts, seconded by Dr. Phillips and unanimously
approved, the Chairman concurring.
Maryland State Archives On Line
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Finding Aids, Reference Services, and Publications:
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Summer 2007 Summer Internship Program
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Emily Squires informed the Commission and meeting
attendees that the Archives had received about 100 applications for intern
positions, a positive sign that these internship positions are attracting
students from Maryland as well as Maryland residents attending school in
other parts of the country. The interns this year will concentrate
their research capabilities on the Ground Rents of John Eager Howard; the
Legacy of Slavery, specifically focusing on estates and the slave holdings
along the Potomac and particularly in Prince George's County; and the Maryland
Women's Hall of Fame biographies. In addition, a few of the interns
will be doing some very needed but basic archival work, and a few others
will work in our Conservation Lab to help repair documents and learn how
to repair library books.
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Tim Baker added that the Executive Committee for
the Maryland Land Title Association had contacted the Archives, stating
they were so pleased with mdlandrec.net that they wanted to provide
a donation. Their donation will be used to fund one of the interns
who will be working on the Legacy of Slavery project.
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Dr. Papenfuse added that Richard Richardson, the
Assistant Commissioner of Land Patents, is an extraordinarily deft researcher
when it comes to land patents and the whole issue of land records in Maryland.
At Dr. Papenfuse's request, Mr. Richardson quietly did some research on
a piece of property on the Potomac which resulted in a significant anonymous
gift to the Friends that will be applied to the Internship Program this
coming summer. Mr. Richardson's research has to do with slave plantations
along the Potomac River, and involves a very interesting case of a group
of slaves that was stolen from the plantations along the Potomac River,
put on a ship that got caught in a storm near Bermuda, and then set free
on a writ of habeas corpus. They lived in Bermuda until slavery was
abolished in America, after which some of them moved back to America and
their descendants are living in Ohio. It is a very interesting story
of which more details will be shared at the next Hall of Records Commission
meeting.
Education and Outreach
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Courses taught and lectures given by State Archivist (see prior resolution
on 4/19/2000)
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December 21: Mike McCormick presented a lecture
at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Laurel, on "Introduction
to Research at the Archives"
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December 29: Elaine Bachmann provided a tour
of Government House to friends of Governor and Mrs. Ehrlich
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January 8: Dr. Papenfuse and Mimi Calver met
with Jeff Barnd of Fox 45, who interviewed Dr. Papenfuse concerning the
Washington document
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January 9: Dr. Papenfuse met with Lou Davis
of Maryland Public Television, who interviewed Dr. Papenfuse concerning
the Washington document
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January 11: Sasha Lourie gave an illustrated
lecture to the Arts and Antiques Association of Annapolis on the State-owned
art collection
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January 23: Dr. Papenfuse spoke with Marina
Sarris, freelance reporter for the Baltimore Sun, who interviewed Dr. Papenfuse
concerning John Eager Howard
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January 25: Rob Schoeberlein presented a lecture
to staff and interns at Spring Grove Hospital Center Grand Rounds on "Home
and Institutional Care in Maryland to 1915"
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January 29: Dr. Papenfuse participated in the
radio show, "Heart of a Winner"
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January 30: Mike McCormick and Chris Haley
provided a tour of the Archives to a student group and chaperones from
Archbishop Curley High School
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February 1: Dr. Papenfuse presented a lecture
to the Mt Vernon Club on "The Procurement and Merchandising of Carroll's
Goods"
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February 1: Chris Haley presented a lecture
to the African American Genealogical Society on "How to Do African American
Genealogy at the Maryland State Archives"
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February 2: Dr. Papenfuse met with Scott Broom
of Channel 2, who interviewed Dr. Papenfuse concerning the Washington document
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February 4 - 8: Elaine Bachmann traveled as
an Art Courier to the Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen, to oversee the packing
and shipping of State-owned artwork
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February 5: Chris Haley, John Gartrell, Maya
Davis, Kara Carter, Ryan Cox, and Emily Squires participated in the radio
show, "Heart of a Winner"
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February 9: Chris Haley met with Sarian Bouma and Tiffany Lee concerning
the radio show "Heart of a Winner"
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February 15: Chris Haley presented a lecture to the Employment Standards
Administration on "The Celebration of Black History"
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February 20: Mike McCormick held an orientation session for members
of the Baltimore Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society - Agnes
Kane Callum Chapter
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February 21: Sasha Lourie presented a lecture to the Washington Decorative
Arts Forum
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February 23: Chris Haley was the Guest Speaker at the Honor Roll
Assembly, Ardmore-Ardwick Elementary School
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February 23: John Gartrell attended the National Park Services Network
to Freedom Program at Middletown High School in Frederick
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February 25: Chris Haley presented a lecture at the Ames United Methodist
Church
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February 28: Chris Haley presented a lecture to the Office of Equal
Opportunity Employment, Arlington, Virginia, on African American History
Month
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March 3: Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing at the Old
Wye Church Book Fair for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye
Oak”
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March 14: Mimi Calver and Elaine Bachmann provided a tour of Government
House to Samantha Davis and Vickie Fowley from the First Lady's staff
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March 24: Mike McCormick presented two lectures to the Family History
Library Genealogical Conference on "An Introduction to the Maryland State
Archives" and "What the Archivist Wishes You Knew"
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March 24: Elaine Bachmann participated in a book reading and signing
at the Maryland Day Reading Program for “While a Tree Grew … The Story
of Maryland’s Wye Oak"
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March 25: Dr. Papenfuse attended the Maryland Day Observance at Historic
St. Mary's City
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March 25: Elaine Bachmann participated in a book reading and signing
at the Historic Annapolis Foundation's Maryland Day activities for “While
a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak"
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March 29 - 31: Dr. Papenfuse participated in the Spring Meeting of
the American Catholic Historical Association in Marquette in the session,
"Understanding English Catholic Responses to the Penal Legislation:
Was Sir George Calvert a Secret Catholic?"
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April 5: Tim Baker, Elaine Bachmann, and Sasha Lourie participated
in a meeting of the Commission of Artistic Property
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April 6: Dr. Papenfuse participated in the Baltimore City Historical
Society Historians Council organizational meeting
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April 6: Tim Baker, Richard Richardson, Mike McCormick, Christine
Alvey, and Kevin Swanson provided an overview of the on-demand scanning
operation to Jeff Hartley, Librarian, and Eric Chaskes, from the User Services
Division, of the National Archives and Records Administration
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April 11: Chris Haley was the Keynote Speaker for the Catholic Library
Association's 86th Convention
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April 13: Chris Haley, John Gartrell, Maya Davis, and Ryan Cox attended
the National Park Service Symposium, "Confronting Slavery"
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April 17: Chris Haley met with Dr. Iris Ford and Julie King, from
St. Mary's College, concerning possible initiatives for the college
Forthcoming special meetings of the Commission and events
of interest
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April 19: Chistine Alvey will attend the Library
Services Advisory Committee
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April 24: Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, and Kevin
Swanson will attend a Circuit Court Real Property Records Improvement Fund
Oversight Committee meeting
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April 27: Dr. Papenfuse will meet with Carla
Hayden and Pat Wallace, Enoch Pratt Free Library; and Steve Anderson, State
Law Library, concerning collecting government publications
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April 28: Kim Moreno will serve as a Judge
for Maryland History Day at the University of Maryland Baltimore City
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April 30 - May 1: Dr. Papenfuse, Wei Yang,
and Kim Moreno will attend the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
21st Annual Preservation Conference
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May 1 - 4: James Watson, Allison Smith, Joyce
Phelps, and Carol Gross will go to Washington County for mdlandrec.net
installation
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May 2: Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, Kevin Swanson,
and Kim Moreno will attend the Land Records Access Committee meeting
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May 4: Dr. Papenfuse and Chris Haley will participate
in the Spring Workshop sponsored by the Baltimore City Historical Society
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Dr. Papenfuse and Chris Haley will, at this workshop,
talk about Sherrill's new book, which is confronting the legacy of lynching
in the 21st century. They will point out that the Archives has online
a comprehensive web site related to the history of lynching in Maryland.
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May 8: Dr. Papenfuse will host a tour for students
and teachers from Boys' Latin School
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May 19: Dr. Papenfuse will participate in a
community conversation with the families of Washington College Graduates
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May 20: Dr. Papenfuse will participate in Washington
College Commencement Ceremony
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May 22: Dr. Papenfuse will participate in the
Governor's Consulting Committee on the National Register
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May 25: Sasha Lourie, Vicki Lee, and Elaine
Bachmann will meet with Dr. Carol Soltis, Philadelphia Museum of Art, who
will examine a painting in the State's collection for an upcoming exhibition
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May 26: Elaine Bachmann will participate in
a book signing at the Chestertown Tea Party, Chestertown, for “While a
Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak”
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June 6: Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, Kevin Swanson,
and Kim Moreno will attend the Land Records Access Committee meeting
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June 14: Christine Alvey will attend a Library Services Advisory
Committee meeting
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June 18: Dr. Papenfuse and Nancy Bramucci to conduct workshops at
UMBC as part of the Teaching American History program to Baltimore City
public elementary, middle and high school high school teachers relating
to online primary sources available for incorporation in the classroom
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September 20: Michael McCormick will host a group of 10-15 researchers
from Hagerstown Community College
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October 9: Dr. Papenfuse will participate in the Governor's Consulting
Committee on the National Register meeting
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November 1-3: Dr. Papenfuse will participate in the Mid-Atlantic
Regional Archives Conference Meeting
Administrative and Fiscal Matters
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Deputy State Archivist's Report:
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The visitor experience at the State House
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Exhibits Master Plan development
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Tim Baker informed the Commission and meeting attendees
that they have been working with a consultant to develop an exhibits master
plan for the State House that will improve the visitor experience from
the point of arrival in Annapolis, the signage, the entranceway to the
State House, and the exhibits. The Master Plan has been presented
to, among others, the Maryland Historical Trust, Department of General
Services, and the Office of Tourism.
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Recreation of the Old House Chamber
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Tim Baker noted that the Silver Room and the Calvert
Room will be consolidated to recreate the House Chamber as it existed in
1876. They are working with a separate consultant to do the research
necessary to document what the room actually looked like and to find artisans,
fabrics, and floor coverings. A comprehensive plan should be complete
and ready to be presented to the Department of General Services by the
fall.
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Mdlandrec.net status
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Tim Baker gave a status report on mdlandrec.net,
the project that continues to be the Archives' largest. There are
only two counties left for installation of the computer equipment, with
99.5% of all land records from the founding up to the present online.
As not all original source material was crisp and clean, there will be
some clean-up scanning. Version 3 of mdlandrec.net will provide
for greater and faster search capabilities, enhanced security features,
and a general overall improvement in the appearance. Load testing
will be accomplished before the new version is rolled out, and this will
take place through fiscal year 2007 and into fiscal year 2008.
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Facilities
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Capital Budget requirement for new Archival facility
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Tim Baker noted the need to accelerate the capital
budget process since more than half of the State's permanent record material
is currently housed in substandard rented facilities.
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Need for statewide disaster recovery data center
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Tim Baker informed the Commission and the meeting
attendees that the Department of Budget and Management is planning to develop
a computer room for disaster recovery, another data center for agencies
to back up their electronic data. The Archives has asked to partner
with the Department of Budget and Management and will work with them to
ensure that thought is also given to permanent vital records, which could
also be backed up at such a facility.
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Maintenance
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Tim Baker stated that the Department of General Services
is working well with the Archives on fixing leaky roof problems and other
maintenance issues.
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Legislative Audit
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Tim informed the Commission that the Legislative
Auditors are just finishing up the audit of the Archives. The exit
interview has not been scheduled yet, but there don't appear to be any
significant issues.
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Budget Highlights
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Art Conservation
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Tim Baker expressed pleasure that the Archives was
able to hold on to a very modest amount of money that was budgeted for
art conservation in the last year, and was able to carry it over to this
year. For many years, the Archives was not budgeted any money to
take care of the significant art collections. He also thanked President
Miller and the Judiciary, who supported the conservation of targeted pieces
of the collection.
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Elaine Bachmann added that the Senate supported the
complete conservation and reinstallation in the Senate Chamber of the Four
Signers. In addition, there are two important portraits currently
in the conservation studio: a full-length portrait of William Paca
by Charles Wilson Peale, and the portrait of William Pitt by Peale from
the State House.
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Dr. Papenfuse mentioned that work should also be
done on Lawyer's Mall. As an example, there is a wonderful explanation
of Thurgood Marshall's career that is in the flooring, but it has never
been filled in in a way in which it can be seen and it is obscured by people
walking on it.
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Fiscal Year 2008
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Archives Endowment
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Tim Baker reminded the Commission that the Archives,
over the last two years, has attached a 7% fee on all publications and
services rendered, allowing the Endowment to grow to a little over $3,000,000.
Dr. Papenfuse emphasized that the Endowment was set up in such a way that
the Archives can only use the interest from the Endowment.
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Tim Baker ended with the note that the Archives is
in the process of reviewing and rewriting its regulations. The work
plan was approved by the joint Administration, Legislative, and Executive
Committee, and there will be a presentation of the regulations to the Commission
at the next Hall of Records Commission meeting.
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Budget Initiatives:
Mr. Freedlander offered a motion
of approval for the concept of the Educational and Entrepreneurial Endowments,
public and private, seconded by Delegate Clagett and unanimously approved,
the Chairman concurring.
New Business
Next meeting
The next Hall of Records Commission meeting is scheduled for
Monday, November 5, 2007.
Adjournment
There being no further business to discuss,
the meeting adjourned at 12:42 p.m.
Approved by the Hall of Records Commission, November
5, 2007.
________________________________________
The Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chairman
________________________________________
Edward C. Papenfuse, Jr., Secretary
State Archivist
Maryland State Archives
350 Rowe Boulevard
(410) 260-6401.
Email: edp@mdarchives.state.md.us
© Copyright Maryland State Archives
