ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 7

gather information about persons holding leading governmental
positions and to submit this qestionnaire for approval at the next
meeting of the Commission. The question of the part the Hall
of Records should play in the gathering of historical materials
witnessing Maryland's part in the present war was discussed at
length. The cooperation of the staff and the facilities of the
building were offered to Senator Radcliffe, Chairman of the
Governor's special committee for the collection of such materials.
The second meeting of the year, which was held May 14,
1945, was attended by Governor O'Connor, Judge Marbury, Mr.
Barr and Dr. Pleasants. The Commission noted with satisfac-
tion that the Legislature had approved its proposal to transfer
to the Hall of Records all county records antedating the adoption
of the Federal Constitution. It was decided that all photostatic
copies of records made in the course of this transfer and de-
posited in the courthouses should be certified by the Archivist
and that records previously photostated should also be so cer-
tified.

It was felt that since the danger of active warfare had
passed, the negative microfilm copies of our colonial records
should be returned to the Hall of Records and that positive copies
should be prepared and deposited at the Huntington Library
and at certain foreign research centers. The purpose of these
deposits would be to make available to scholars not within con-
venient distance of Annapolis all of our major colonial records,
and in addition, to protect the State of Maryland against total
loss of the records should the originals at the Hall of Records
ever be destroyed.

Several proposals of the Archivist for the raising of classi-
fications of members of the Hall of Records staff were approved.
There was approval, likewise, for his suggestion that the main-
tenance of the buildings and grounds be transferred from the
Hall of Records Commission to the Superintendent of Public
Buildings and Grounds. It was decided, however, that no final
decision should be made in this matter before the end of a one-
year trial period. A further proposal that a full-time worker
be employed in the repair of county records not destined for
deposit at the Hall of Records and that funds for this purpose
be requested of the Board of Public Works was approved. A