24 TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT

ACCESSIONS

During the past year the volume of accessions was unusually large, total-
ling 912 volumes and 39 cubic feet of papers. At least two-thirds of the re-
cords acquired were on microfilm, thus demonstrating once again that micro-
film is an extremely useful archival tool, even though it is no longer regarded
as the panacea for all archival ills.

In several previous reports we have already described our program for
making microfilm copies of the more important probate series; the primary
purposes being to provide security copies in case the originals are lost or de-
stroyed and to centralize all the county records to facilitate their use. Last
year we filmed the inventories and the accounts of Calvert and St. Mary's
Counties. This completes the program for all five Southern Maryland Count-
ies. We also filmed the newly-completed volumes in several other orphans*
courts, thus keeping our holdings current for those counties.

We made good progress on yet another long-range project. This project
was conceived as long ago as 1949, when by the passage of Chapter 504 of
that year, the General Assembly provided that microfilm copies of all county
land records created thereafter would be deposited in the Land Office. We
pointed out in the last Annual Report that microfilm copies of all the land
records through 1850 were already stored in our stacks. These had been fur-
nished by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in return for our
sponsorship of their microfilm project in Maryland. This left a gap of one
hundred years for which there were no insurance copies except the abstracts of
deeds, mortgages and releases of mortgages held by the Land Office. These
abstracts are too uneven both in quality and in quantity to provide adequate
insurance against loss of the originals.

It was readily apparent, however, that carrying out a project of this
magnitude within the limitations imposed by our small staff and budget would
require many years. A check of the records remaining to be done in several
counties and the actual filming of the land records of Anne Arundel County,
which we undertook as an experiment, only served to confirm our misgivings.
Whenever possible, therefore, we are attempting to persuade county officers
to use whatever personnel and facilities are available locally to further the
project.

In Queen Anne's County, for example, a member of the Clerk's staff is
doing the filming on a camera owned by the Register of Wills and using film
furnished by us. The Clerks of Court of Baltimore and Howard Counties are
doing the work under our supervision, using their own personnel and equip-
ment. Our own photographer is continuing to microfilm the Anne Arundel