22 THIRTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT

accepted in January 1948, and the manuscript was sent to the printer
shortly after the end of the fiscal year. At this writing the book is
being bound and will be distributed within the next two weeks.

We decided early in our work that nothing would do but a
thorough rewriting. We visited each agency of the State Government,
we studied the legal basis and the functions of each, and we wrote the
account. In the case of the county officers we enlisted the aid of the
Clerks of Court, who checked names for us and kept us abreast of
changes until the book was in proof. We checked the historical lists of
Maryland officers with the original records at the Hall of Records,
and the Department of Legislative Reference prepared a new text for
the Constitution and a new index. The office of the Secretary of State
provided us with the names of all officers commissioned by the Governor.
We prepared a chart of Maryland State Government and various
maps. Finally, we gave special attention to a new and enlarged index.

The preparation of the Manual proved to be a heavy burden. We
hope that the result will justify the effort and money which was spent
on it. We do not know at this time whether the responsibility for the
Manual will be returned to the Secretary of State or whether it will
become one of the permanent duties of the Hall of Records.

PUBLICATIONS OF STATE AGENCIES

During the regular session of the General Assembly of 1947, an
Act was passed requiring every Slate agency to deposit at the Hall
of Records one copy of each of its publications (Chapter 651). This
Act took effect June 1, 1947; therefore the last fiscal year was the first
full year of its operation. Cooperation has been excellent in the matter of
current publications. We feel that these publications, especially the
annual and biennial reports, will be a valuable addition to our holdings.

The members of the Hall of Records Commission are aware that,
in the past, two State agencies, the Department of Legislative Reference
and the State Library, have been legal depositories for publications of
all other State offices. Both agencies have built up good collections of
such publications, but neither one is complete. Back issues of reports
are extremely difficult to find, and there is no complete file of Mary-
land publications, even for the modern period, in spite of vigorous
efforts on the part of the Enoch Pratt Library and the Library of