ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 51

the Proceedings of the General Assembly of Maryland, which were
filmed after each legislative day in order to provide insurance against
loss or error by the printer or while in transit.

The Commissioner of the Land Office was again provided with
microfilm copies of the currently recorded land records, and the De-
partment of Assessments and Taxation with copies of current deeds
for its tax map program. These records were filmed especially for the
Hall of Records by the Clerks of Court or were a part of the projection
print recording program carried on through Hall & McChesney, Inc.
Our personnel supervised the filming, inspected the film, and delivered
it to the Land Office. They also film the abstracts of mortgage releases
which are forwarded to us each year by the Clerks in order that the
security copies of the land records in possession of the Land Office may
be complete.

As in the past, we continued to advise the Department of Budget
and Procurement on requests from State agencies for the purchase of
record equipment and services. Requests for filing equipment were
reviewed to insure that all possible records had been transferred to the
Centers or destroyed, and that the equipment thus released was utilized
before the purchase of new equipment was authorized. The location of
the Centers in the basement of the State Office Buildings and the
reference service provided by our personnel have convinced many
State officials that additional office files will not materially increase
the accessibility of their records, and this has led to a substantial re-
duction in the number of requisitions for such equipment. Other types
of equipment or services which are requested are examined to deter-
mine whether they are needed or are appropriate for the purpose
intended.

The Comptroller of the Treasury also frequently asked our advice
on the expenditure of funds for record equipment and services by the
Clerks of Court and the Registers of Wills of the counties and Baltimore
City. This year the Archivist and the Assistant Records Administrator
reviewed requests from twenty-one officers of fifteen counties and
Baltimore City. Among the items requested were microfilm cameras,
microfilm readers, quick-copy machines, roller shelves, and plat cabinets,
the purchase of new and the repair of old indexes, the re-binding and
re-covering of record books, and the re-indexing of records and the
re-copying of plats.