48 THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT

Additional recommendations concerning records management
activities were included in most of the reports for other State
agencies. These recommendations concerned the overly detailed
and duplicated records of the State Planning Department; micro-
film programs for the State Department of Assessments and
Taxation, the Department of Public Improvements, the Health
Department, the Department of Education, the Fire Marshal,
and the Department of Motor Vehicles; duplicated and over-
lapping accounting forms of the Department of Natural Re-
sources, forms design and outdated records schedules for the
Department of Licensing and Regulation; and a central file and
microfilm program for the State Roads Commission.

The GOES survey is the first study of the State records
program since the Records Engineering Incorporated Survey of
1953 that resulted in the establishment of this Division.

In our report to the Governor on implementation of the
GOES recommendations, we took no exception to the observations
included in the GOES report of difficulties with agency liaison,
or the reasons for this difficulty. We did report, however, that
the professional staff assigned to the program is limited to
three — one Assistant Records Administrator, and two Public
Records Examiners, a staffing level that has remained constant
since 1954. In the intervening period, we have established and
are operating the records centers in Annapolis and Baltimore
and have enlarged the central microfilm, advisory, and consulting
services. In general, we agreed with the program assessment and
recommendations. We pointed out that the continuing reorganiza-
tion of State agencies and the changes in records keeping prac-
tices, often as a result of automation, requires the constant
updating of records schedules. We also mentioned our unsuccess-
ful efforts over the preceding three years to obtain additional
staff, an effort which, at that time, was still in the budgetary
process. Happily, an additional Public Records Examiner was
authorized for the coming year, to be assigned to the active
supervision of the Baltimore Records Center and to the prepara-
tion of records schedules for State agencies in the Baltimore
complex. An additional clerk/typist was authorized for the
Baltimore Center for typing records schedules and for providing
reference to the records, and to assist in the microfilm program.