Hall of Records Commission
Minutes of a Meeting
held in the Electronic Classroom
of the Maryland State Archives
March 3, 1997
Call to Order by the Secretary
With the retirement of the Chair and in the absence of a Vice Chair,
the meeting was called to order by the Secretary at 12:00 noon.
Present were:
The Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals
William R. Brody, M.D., President of The Johns Hopkins University
Ms. Pat Bruce, representing Delegate Conroy
The Honorable Richard N. Dixon, Treasurer
The Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Comptroller of the Treasury
Mr. Richard E. Israel, Assistant Attorney General
Ms. Annie K. Kronk, Special Assistant to the President of The Johns Hopkins
University
Gerald P. Walls, representing Eugene Lynch, Secretary of Department of
General Services
Mr. Christopher B. Nelson, President of St. Johns College
Dr. Glenn Phillips, representing Dr. Earl S. Richardson, President, Morgan
State University
Dr. Whitman H. Ridgway, representing Dr. Donald N. Langenberg, Chancellor,
University of Maryland
Staff:
Mr. Christopher N. Allan, Deputy State Archivist
Ms. Betsy Bodziak, Database Administrator, Maryland State Archives
Mrs. Shirley A. Bodziak, Administrative Aide to Edward C. Papenfuse
Ms. Mimi Calver, Archivist V, Maryland State Archives
Mr. Chris Haley, Archivist IV, Maryland State Archives
Ms. Patricia V. Melville, Archivist V, Maryland State Archives
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist and Secretary, Hall of Records
Commission
Election of a new Chair and Vice Chair
- The Secretary noted that the first order of business was the election
of a new Chair of the Commission. The Treasurer placed the name of Louis
L. Goldstein, Comptroller of the Treasury, into nomination for Chair and
the name of Chief Judge Robert Bell as Vice Chair. Both nominations were
approved unanimously. Comptroller Goldstein took the chair and noted that
he has been on the Commission since 1959 and commended Dr. Papenfuse for
his work in creating the most modern archives in the U.S. and for his outstanding
contribution to the state.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting
- The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.
- Dr. Papenfuse noted that there were also six special meetings of
the Hall of Records Commission held in 1996 and 1997:
1. Celebrations of the Bicentennial of the Founding of Prince George's
County
April 23, 1996
2. Dedication of the Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis in honor
of Judge Robert C. Murphy
June 3, 1996
3. Dedication of the Thurgood Marshall Memorial
State House Square, Annapolis
October 22, 1996
4. Unveiling of the portrait of former Governor William Donald Schaefer
Governor's Reception Room, The State House
December 19, 1996
5. Unveiling of the portrait of former Treasurer Lucy Maurer, January
24, 1997
6. Presentation of the prizes for the MEC
homepage design contest, February 25, 1997
On a motion by Dr. Phillips, the above ceremonial meetings of the
Commission were approved as presented.
Records Retention and Disposal Schedules
- Dr. Papenfuse noted that only about seven per cent of all state
paper records are scheduled for permanent retention. Records designated
for retention or disposal since the last Commission meeting were approved
unanimously on a motion by Judge Bell.
Old Business
- There was no old business to come before the Commission.
Staff Activities
- Dr. Papenfuse noted that staff activities are reported in the Archives'
biweekly newsletter The Bulldog which is sent to each Commission member
and is also available on the Archives' web site. The Bulldog also contains
articles on records in the Archives.
- Dr. Papenfuse said that an important recent activity was the visit
of President Bill Clinton to Annapolis to address a Joint Session of the
General Assembly. He said that this visit was historic in that it is the
first time a sitting President has visited the State House or addressed
the General Assembly. He said that it may also be seen as an historic one
in that it marks the first time a President has gone to a state legislature
to promote implementation of a national program.
- Dr. Papenfuse said that he had, on February 27, talked to about
130 Annapolis guides and docents about Colonial Annapolis history. His
talk centered around presidential visits, past and present.
- Dr. Papenfuse said that he had recently taken part in two awards
ceremonies:
- The First Citizen Award given every year by the President of the
Senate. This year it was awarded to former Senator Julian Lapides. Dr.
Papenfuse's remarks at that event are on the Archives' web site.
- The Speaker's Medallion and the Thomas Kennedy Award. The Speaker's
Medallion was awarded by the Speaker of the House of Delegates to Walter
Sondheim, Jr. and the Thomas Kennedy Award to former U.S. Senator Charles
McC. Mathias.
Upcoming Activities
- Dr. Papenfuse said that on Friday, March 7 he is speaking at a special
joint session of the General Assembly honoring the 25th anniversary of
the Women's Caucus.
- On March 20, the Archives is hosting, with Maryland Public Television,
a distance learning genealogy workshop which will be linked to about 20
remote sites. Appearing with him will be Agnes Kane Callum and they will
focus on the stories and families connected to Sotterley.
- On April 10, Dr. Papenfuse is taking part in a workshop on Going
Digital: Research, Resources, and Trends with the National Archives and
Records Administration and the University of Maryland.
- Dr. Papenfuse noted that the Archives has held a number of genealogy
workshops which have been conducted by volunteers and which have raised
thousands of dollars for the Archives' endowment fund. The next on is on
April 19 and will focus on African American genealogy.
- Dr. Papenfuse said that the staff is now evaluating the entries
received in the annual Colonial Society Essay Contest. The topic this year
is "Maryland: An American Mosaic" and 20 entries have been received
from all over the state.
- Dr. Papenfuse showed the Commission some pages from a new publication
by Carson Gibbs, an Archives' volunteer, on the first settlers of Maryland.
Dr. Gibbs has found about 3,000 settlers who were missed in the first guide
which was published in the 1960s. The book will be published as a book
and as an electronic publication on the Archives' web site. On a motion
by Judge Bell, the Commission unanimously approved the publication of the
book and the Comptroller noted that it is a very valuable publication.
Recent Acquisitions
Dr. Papenfuse noted that the largest single contributor of government
records to the Archives is the judiciary. He said that information about
the Archives' acquisitions is available on the web site.
Setting Standards for the Preservation of the Electronic Record
- Dr. Papenfuse said that it is very important that any record of
permanent value be saved electronically or on in some sort of static form,
such as microfilm. He said that the standards for retention encourage agencies
to use at least a semi-permanent medium such as CD_ROM. Rules and regulations
are available on the Archives' web site but the official copy of them must
be obtained from the Division of State Documents.
Promoting an Annapolis Campus of State Agency Web Sites
- Dr. Papenfuse said that the Comptroller's office has the best tax
web site in the U.S. and that anyone can download a form from it or buy
a CD with the forms at a very reasonable price. He noted that the site
is maintained at the Archives.
- Dr. Papenfuse showed the Commission the General Assembly's web site
and said that the Archives had played a role in its creation. He demonstrated
the "Who Are Your Elected Officials?" feature which the Archives
designed and implemented and maintains for the Legislature.
- A very important element of the state presence on the web is Maryland
Electronic Capital, a clearinghouse for all state agencies. MEC has recently
moved to the Archives and on Tuesday, February 25, Governor Glendening
announced the winner of the MEC Homepage Design Contest. The Archives now
manages MEC and people can come here to use its computers, some of which
are handicapped accessable. Dr. Papenfuse said that the idea and vision
for MEC came from Major Riddick.
Education and Outreach
- Dr. Papenfuse said that the Archives' homepage has the syllabi,
schedules and readings of courses in history taught by him at Johns Hopkins.
- The Archives took part in the Maryland Technology Showcase in December.
- Dr. Papenfuse said that the Archives' staff is helping Kent and
Howard counties to place a presencen on the web.
Peabody Art Collection
- Dr. Papenfuse said that the Peabody Art Collection had been transferred
in June to the Archives in trust for the state. He said that the inventory
of the collection is on the Archives' web site and, eventually, images
of every item will also be there. He said that the collection will be overseen
by the newly appointed Commission on Artistic Property. He also discussed
a recently discovered painting which was stolen from the collection in
the 1960s and which the state is now trying to recover for the collection.
Budget Issues
- Dr. Papenfuse said that, in three years, the Archives has gone from
being a fully funded agency to 70 per cent funded. He said that it is a
difficult time and that the agency is trying to find revenue sources to
make up the other 30 per cent. In the budget presentation to the Legislature,
he argued for funding for baseline services such as reference, the public
search room, the Maryland Manual, the maintenance of electronic information
on state government, and the organizational charts of Maryland state government.
- An important element in the long term strategy to provide funding
for Archives' activities beyond what is funded by the state, is the endowment
fund of the State Archives' Fund which was set up with the support of the
Governor and the General Assembly. Dr. Papenfuse thanked Comptroller Goldstein
for his personal support of the State Archives Fund.
- Another problem for the Archives which Dr. Papenfuse addressed was
one of space. He said that the Archives building, because of the downsizing
of state government, has run out of space for storage of records and the
pressure on the Archives to take more records is increasing. He said that,
very soon, the Archives is going to have to acquire additional storage
space to properly care for and store both paper and electronic records.
There is enough land to expand the Archives building to care for electronic
records, but paper records will have to be accommodated at a adjunct facility.
For the past couple of year, the Archives has had some help from MDIC which
has a warehouse in which we are storing some records.
- Dr. Papenfuse said that, in the past year, the Archives has applied
for several grants:
- National Endowment for the Humanities grant to teach teachers to
use the Internet in the classroom;
- Ameritech/Library of Congress grant to place biographies of African
American soldiers who served in the Civil War into the American Memory
Project;
- An Innovations in American Government grant from the John F. Kennedy
School of Government of Harvard University for the Archives' state and
local government web site.
On a motion from Judge Bell, the Commission approved the Archives'
participation in these grant projects, if they are awarded. Treasurer Dixon
noted that his great-grandfather, Abraham Jones, served in a colored troop
in the Civil War.
- Dr. Papenfuse also noted that The Johns Hopkins University and St.
John's College support the intern program at the Archives. He said that
an intern from Hopkins has discovered a great deal of interesting information
about the architect of the State House, Joseph Clark and has connected
him to McDowell Hall as well as to buildings in Washington, D.C. Also,
the Archives has an intern who was a student at Morgan State University
and now teaches there.
Presentation to Senator Miller
Dr. Papenfuse showed the Commission a framed image of Daniel of St.
Thomas Jenifer which he asked the Commission to present to Senator Miller,
in absentia, in honor of Senator Miller's having served longer than any
other Maryland Senate President. The Commission unanimously approved the
motion.
Next Meeting
Dr. Brody offered to host the next meeting of the Commission at Johns
Hopkins University at a time to be decided.
Adjournment
There being no other business to come before the Commission, the
meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Approved by the Hall of Records Commission, May 29, 1997-
____________________________________________
The Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Chairman
____________________________________________
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Secretary