10 SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT

ACCESSIONING

The Archivist is glad to report that all of the materials at the
Hall of Records on September 30, 1942 have been accessioned. The
Commission was informed last year it was hoped materials could
be accessioned in good order at the time of their arrival and this hope
has been entirely fulfilled. It is true that there were fewer new materials
received at the Hall of Records this year than last, but this advantage
was offset by the fact that there were many changes in the professional
staff. We should have no difficulty now in keeping abreast of new
arrivals in the future; accessioning has become and should remain a
part of our daily routine. There is nothing more disrupting to the
efficient operation of an archival institution than to permit the accumu-
lation of a large backlog of materials to be accessioned.

RECEPTION AND ARRANGEMENT

During the course of the year we have been able to service all
new accessions shortly after their arrival at the Hall of Records. We
had decided to continue this practice which had been initiated the
previous year although we were not able, as we had hoped, to complete
our work with some of the older collections and thus put the Hall of
Records on an absolute day-by-day basis. We were, however, able to
make substantial progress in the arrangement and rearrangement of
these older materials and we may look forward to a time in the not
too distant future when we shall have achieved this objective. The
projects listed below were accomplished with the assistance of the
NYA and the WPA under staff direction.

Executive Records. These records were received from three dif-
ferent sources (Maryland Historical Society, Land Office and Execu-
tive Office) and had been kept separate. Since they were all records
of the executive department of the Province or the State, we decided
to combine them. They were arranged in rough chronological order
on shelves, and shelf lists were prepared.

Legislative Records. In similar fashion, the records of the Senate
and of the House of Delegates which had come from various offices
were combined and listed.

Adjutant General's Records, These records were received in two
installments from the same office. Each had been listed separately.