46 TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT

We again provided the Commissioner of the Land Office with
microfilm copies of the currently recorded land records, and the De-
partment of Assessment 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 their projection print
recording program carried on through Hall & McChesney, Inc. Our per-
sonnel supervised the filming in all the counties and Baltimore City,
inspected the completed film, and delivered it to the Land Office. Dur-
ing the year, 1,286 rolls of 35 mm microfilm were turned over to this
agency.

We also worked closely with the Department of Budget and Pro-
curement on requests from State agencies for the purchase or rental
of records 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 authorizing the purchase of new equipment. Other types of
equipment or services requested were examined to determine whether
they were needed or were suitable for the purpose intended.

We also continued to serve as advisor to the Comptroller on the
expenditure of funds for records equipment and services by the clerks
of court and the registers of wills. This year, twenty-eight requests
were referred to us for review and recommendations.

Among the items requested were microfilm cameras, microfilm
readers, copying equipment, roller shelves, filing cabinets, the re-bind-
ing and re-covering of record books, and the re-indexing of records and
the re-copying of plats.

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

There were two opinions issued by the State Law Department
which are of interest to record keepers everywhere. The first one was
an effort to define a public record in Maryland. It only succeeded in
part. The second had to do with the fate of public records once we
had marked them for disposal (destruction). The Law Department
held that they need not be "destroyed" according to the usual meaning
of the word. We had hoped to prevent public records falling into the