3 5 2/Maryland Manual

Louis L. Goldstein, Comptroller of the Treasury:
William S. James, State Treasurer; Earl F.
Seboda, Secretary of General Services; Brian B.
Topping, President, Maryland Historical Society;
Steven Muller, President, The Johns Hopkins
University; John S. Toll, President, University of
Maryland; Edwin J. Delattre, President, St.
John's College; Julian L. Lapides, State Senate:
Anne Scarlett Perkins, House of Delegates

Secretary: Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State
Archivist

P. 0. Box 828
Annapolis 21404 Telephone: 269-3914/3916

The Hall of Records Commission was created in
1935 (Chapter 18, Acts of 1935). The Commission
meets at least quarterly as an advisory body to the
State Archives. The Commission reviews and com-
ments on the proposed budget for the State Ar-
chives, all proposed publications, and proposed
policies for the use of the State Archives by the
public.

The Commission is composed of eight ex officio
members, one senator appointed by the Senate
President, and one delegate appointed by the
Speaker of the House (Code State Government
Article, secs. 9-1001 through 9-1006).

STATE ARCHIVES

Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist
Dr. Gregory A. Stiverson, Assistant State Archivist

Catherine M. Shultz, Counsel for State Archives
and Land! Office.

P. 0. Box 828
College Ave. and St. John's St.
Annapolis 21404 Telephone: 269-3914/3917

Public Searehroom Open Mon.-Sat., 8:30 a.m.-4:30
p.m.

The origins of the State Archives can be traced
to the State's Tercentenary celebrations in 1934.
The Tercentenary Commission made a modern,
centralized archives a central feature of the State's
commemoration of its three-hundredth year. A
proposal to create a "Memorial Hall of Records"
for the State was mentioned as early as 1928, and
in 1931 the General Assembly passed an appropri-
ation for the construction of an archives building.
Construction of the building began in 1934, and it
was occupied a year later.

With construction of the archives building near-
ing completion, the General Assembly made provi-
sions for the management of the State's permanent
records that would be housed in the new facility.
Chapter 18, Acts of 1935, created the Hall of
Records Commission, prescribed its powers and
duties, and provided for the collection, custody,
and preservation of the official records, documents,
and publications of the State. The Hall of Records
was created as an independent agency of State
government, and remained so until its incorpora-
tion into the Department of General Services by
Chapter 97, Acts of 1970. The Hall of Records
operated as a division of the Department until it
was made an independent agency within the office
of the Governor by Chapter 286, Acts of 1984.
This act renamed the Hall of Records as the State
Archives, defined an advisory role for the Hall of
Records Commission, and incorporated the Com-
mission on Artistic Property into the State Ar-
chives (Code State Government Article, secs.
2-1513(b), 3-404(b), 7-213(a), 9-1001 through
9-1027, 10-604 through 10-608, 10-631 through
10-634, 10-637 through 10-642, 10-701,10-702).

The State Archives is the historical agency for
Maryland. It serves as the central depository for
governmental records of permanent value. Among
its holdings are colonial and State executive,
legislative, and judicial records; county probate,
land, and court records; church records; business
records; State publications and reports; and special
collections of private papers, newspapers, and
maps. Records are stored in a humidity- and
temperature-controlled stack area, and preserva-
tion requirements, including deacidification, lami-
nation, mylar encapsulation, and archival book-
binding are undertaken by the staff of an in-house
conservation laboratory. Records are made accessi-
ble to the public in a search room that is open six
days each week, through photocopies produced in
an in-house photolab, and through the interlibrary
loan of microform. The State Archives produces a
variety of finding aids and guides to records, as
well as historical monographs, essays, and directo-
ries. A brochure describing publications available
from the State Archives and giving guidance for
doing research in the public search room or by
mail is available on request.

The State Archives is located in the Hall of
Records building on the St. John's College campus
in Annapolis. A new State Archives building,
located on Rowe Boulevard across from the Courts
of Appeal complex, is scheduled to open in 1986.

State agencies, counties, cities, and towns in
Maryland are authorized to offer for deposit at the
State Archives all files, documents, and records not