ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OP RECORDS 25

the Society of American Archivists was organized and Dr. Robert-
son was made a member of the Program Committee and chairman
of the Archival Cooperation Committee.

In the course of the fiscal year 1937-1938, Dr. Robertson vis-
ited several of the leading archival establishments of Canada as well
as some others in New England where he studied procedures and
examined equipment. In addition, he continued the close contacts
he had previously formed with the great federal institutions of re-
lated interests, especially the National Archives and the Library of
Congress. Dr. Robertson also attended the second annual meeting
of the Society of American Archivists which was held at Springfield,
Illinois and he addressed the Allegany County Historical Associa-
tion at Cumberland and the Baltimore Bar Association Luncheon
Club (Daily Record, April 2, 1938). With the cooperation of the Re-
pair staff he presented an exhibition of repair work at the Enoch
Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.

For the fiscal year 1938-1939 there is no record of Dr. Robert-
son's public activities in behalf of the Hall of Records. During the
year he had been made Vice President of the Society of American
Archivists and was busily engaged in preparing for the meeting of
that society which was scheduled to be held in Annapolis in October
1939. Dr. Robertson's death in March of that year prevented his
attendance. The meeting was held, however, as scheduled.

CIRCULATION

The materials at the Hall of Records were so limited during the
early years that one might have expected a small circulation. On the
contrary, circulation was quite high, higher as a matter of fact than
during the later years. Several explanations can be offered: these
years were all years of peace as well as of depression, there was plenty
of time, limitless transportation, a superabundance of graduate stu-
dents in our Universities. In addition, there were in progress several
major abstracting and calendaring projects carried forward by pri-
vate individuals who employed small staffs to work regularly at the
Hall of Records. There were also a number of such projects spon-
sored by the Federal Government. Some additional circulation
should be attributed to the lack of finding mediums.