Finally, after an unsteady start during the previous fiscal year, the
county microfilm program has been pushed vigorously by the Genealo-
gical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. By
the end of the new fiscal year all of the Land Records of Maryland
through 1850 and all of the bound Probate Records through the same
year will have been filmed. No other state will have anything to com-
pare with this rich source of historical material. Unfortunately, the
Mormon Church has no interest in materials after 1850, so that, should
a courthouse be lost by fire or otherwise, we would be able to recreate
only the "Historical" records. Do the members of the Hall of Records
Commission feel that later records should also be filmed at the expense
of the State or the Counties ? Or do our responsibilities end at an arbi-
trary date which marks the end of the "Historical" period?

The Members of the Hall of Records Commission will be gratified
to learn that the building was painted last year and the floors treated
for the first time since 1935. This work was made possible by a generous
grant of $4,500 by the Board of Public Works. It is not so pleasant to
report that the air conditioning system has faltered badly and that
some damage to our records resulted. The Department of Public Im-
provements, to whom this matter was referred, has brought it to the
attention of the Board of Public Works. Competent engineers have
been appointed to make a thorough survey, and it is hoped that im-
provements can be made before the onset of another hot, humid summer.

Respectfully submitted,

MORRIS L. RADOFF,

Archivist
HALL OF RECORDS,
Annapolis, Maryland