ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 25

This situation again calls attention to the need for additional
record storage space in Maryland, especially for the offices located in
Baltimore. The Hall of Records Commission is committed to giving
its primary attention to the older records of the State, and these
records, alone, will more than fill the present building. The Archivist
has previously recommended that additional storage space be provided
either in the form of a specially constructed building or as part of the
proposed new State office building in Baltimore. (Eleventh Annual
Report, page 39). Until some such accommodation is available, many
of the agencies of the State will be compelled to devote space to the
housing of their non-current records which they could use more profi-
tably otherwise or do without.

On May 6, 1948, the Admissions Tax Division of the Comptroller's
Office notified us of their wish to dispose of certain records. They
were examined by a member of the Hall of Records staff and found
to be returns of Tax Admissions filed by various individuals or cor-
porations operating within the State. The returns under consideration
consisted of about three file drawers of closed accounts dating from
1936 to 1942. The Archivist declined to accept them, and in due
course the Board of Public Works authorized their destruction. The
certificate of destruction filed by the Division is dated June 28, 1948.

ACCESS-IONS FROM PUBLIC SOURCES

The past year witnessed a high point in our program of centralizing
in the Hall of Records the early county records of the State. Records
were received from fourteen different county officers, a considerably
larger number than ever before. Since we have now completed the
program for many of the counties, it is hardly likely that we shall
again equal this total.

Perhaps the most welcome accession is the Somerset County Court
Proceedings. This series, together with the Land Records which were
already at the Hall of Records, places in our custody a set of colonial
court records that compares favorably with the set received from
Charles County, which has been described as one of the finest in the
country.

Another fine group of court records was transferred from the
office of the Clerk of Court of Cecil County, although it is evident from