composed of at least three members appointed by the Judges of the
Court of Appeals, exercises general supervision over the library, pur-
chases books, and appoints the Law Librarian and other employees
(Code 1939, 1947 Supp., Art. 41, secs. 117, 119, 121). The Maryland
State Library was established in 1827 by an Act of the General Assem-
bly (Ch. 53, Acts 1826, Dec. Sess.). The Library is divided into two
sections, the Law Library and the General Reference Library. The
Law Library has on its shelves a large collection of law books includ-
ing the acts and court decisions of the Federal government, the various
states and territories, and the District of Columbia. There is also a
collection of English laws, as well as current legal periodicals and
journals. The library also has a number of rare books including the
four volumes of the Audubon subscription edition and the most com-
plete file of the Maryland Gazette now in existence. All together there
are approximately 112,000 volumes on the shelves of the library. The
library is also a depository for publications of the State government,
and all State officials and State agencies are required to place in the
library one copy of all reports and publications (Code 1947 Supp., Art.
41, sec. 103). The library also acts as the distributing agency for the
Journals of the General Assembly, the Laws of Maryland, the Mary-
land Reports and the Annotated Code (Code 1939, 1947 Supp., Art. 41,
secs. 113-116, 118). The reading rooms are open to the public Mon-
day through Friday.

Expenditures Appropriations

1950 1951
Library $ 13,764.66 $ 13,911.00
Library Committee 3,430.66 5,500.00

$ 17,105.32 $ 19,411.00
Staff: 4

COMMISSIONER OF THE LAND OFFICE

Harry L. Harcum, Commissioner, 1955
Malcolm W. Waring, Administrative Assistant

Hall of Records, Annapolis Telephone: Annapolis 3451

The Commissioner of the Land Office is appointed by the Governor,
with the consent of the Senate, to hold office during the term of the
Governor (Const. 1867, Art. VII, sec. 14). The Land Office keeps rec-
ords pertaining to boundaries of land, including records of all war-
rants, certificates and patents for land from the settlement of the Prov-
ince of Maryland in 1634, records of deeds, or abstracts of same, from
1786 to the present time, and abstracts of mortgages and releases
from 1900 to June 1, 1949. Every clerk, after he records any deed,
mortgage, release of mortgage or lease of real estate must make or
have made a 35 mm. microfilm copy of every such record and transmit
it to the Commissioner of the Land Office at the end of each year
(Acts 1949, Ch. 504). The Commissioner hears and determines all dis-
putes which may arise concerning the validity of surveys. The Land
Office is now engaged in making, filing, and recording plats for sub-
divisions of land; copies of such plats are sent to the Supervisors of
Assessments upon request. All plats that have been filed with the