Hall of Records Commission

Minutes
of a Meeting 
at the Maryland State Archives'
Electronic Classroom
March 19, 1998

Attendees

Dr. Papenfuse introduced Shirley Bodziak, his administrative assistant who will be leaving the Archives to move with her husband to Florida, and expressed his and the Commission's appreciation for her many years of dedicated service to the Archives.

The Minutes of  previous meetings

• October 23, 1997
• Special meetings
• Washington's Birthday celebration and the installation of the Tench Tilghman Sword Exhibit in the Old Senate Chamber:
• donation of insurance appraisal
On a motion by Judge Bell, seconded by Mr. Nelson, the minutes of the previous meetings were approved.

• Records Retention and Disposal Schedules

• Retention
• Disposal

On a motion by Judge Bell, seconded by Mr. Nelson, the schedules of records designated for retention and disposal were approved.

Old Business

• gift of the Sohmers/Agnew Papers
• at its May 29, 1997 meeting the Commission declined  to purchase the 13 boxes of the Sohmers/Agnew Papers at the offered price of $16,000.  The owner has subsequently decided to give the papers to the Archives.

On a motion by Judge Bell, seconded by Mr. Nelson, the Commission voted to accept the gift of the Sohmers Collection.

Archivist's Report & Staff Activities

• pronouncing 'Calvert'
• Dr. Papenfuse called the Commission's attention to a recent article in the Post on the controversy over the pronunciation of 'Calvert county' in which the Chairman was quoted.  He presented the Chairman with a copy of a deposition by George Evelyn (who was very active in taking over Kent Island) that he suggested might further enlighten the debate.  Apart from referring to Leonard Calvert, the first governor of Maryland, as a "dunce" and a "blockhead," the deposition spells 'Calvert' as 'Colvert' suggesting how Evelyn probably pronounced the name.  As Evelyn was from York, the home county of the Calvert family, his pronunciation may be close to the way people in the17th century generally spoke the name and perhaps the most accurate rendition.  The Chairman doubted that it would solve the controversy, but noted that it did confirm his pronunciation.
• illustrations for the Annual Report of the State Treasurer.
• Dr. Papenfuse distributed a copy of the Treasurer's report so the Commission could see how helpful the Archives' staff was in suggesting graphics and putting together the background material used with the illustrations in the report.  He called particular attention to the photographs of the buildings in our collections and a little bit of background of the Treasurer covered in the story, as well as a photograph of the only known monument (a tombstone in St. Anne's Cemetery) to a governor for his fiscal policies.  The honoree, Governor Pratt, with the help of George Peabody, saved the state from financial ruin in the 1840s.
• presentation of the Speaker's Medallion to Bishop Robinson
• 300th Anniversary of the Mace of the House of Delegates

For a future meeting, Dr. Papenfuse hopes to have copies for the Commission of The Mace and The Gavel by Silvio Bedini which features the House of Delegates mace.
• pursuit of the fugitive town records of Bladensburg:

A dealer in Virginia has records of the town of Bladensburg dating from 1787 and another set has been found in Calvert County.  Two sets were created in 1787, one for the town, and one for the courts.  Both are now missing.  The records offered by the dealer were meant to be kept by the town.  The other set, now in private hands in Calvert County, was maintained at the courthouse.  The second set is more complete than the first, although both are public records and ought to be at the Archives.  The more complete set is the actual working records of the town and the ones that were added to until the late 19th century.  Both sets will be pursued, and reported on at the next meeting.  Dr. Papenfuse will visit with the person who has the second set, and a strong letter has been sent to the Dealer from the Archives' counsel informing him that the records in his possession are public documents which must be returned and cannot be offered for sale.   He reminded the Commission that a letter of advice to the Archives from the Attorney General's office on fugitive records permits the Archives to offer a finder's fee (or by extension, the 'finder' can take a tax deduction) in those cases where the records were acquired in good faith and the finder (and heirs) materially contributed to their care and preservation.
On a motion by Judge Bell, seconded by Mr. Nelson, the Commission voted to approve Dr. Papenfuse's actions in this matter, including the offer of a finder's fee, if necessary.
• helping to salvage and preserve the Florence Bahr collection of court room sketchbooks and other related materials
• salvaging the collection
A well known artist, Florence Bahr died in a fire in her house and studio in January.  At the request of the family, Archives' staff had gone there and salvaged as much of the collection as it could, and had appraised the collection.  It is of historical, as well as artistic importance, because Mrs. Bahr attended many important events in Maryland history, including the trials of H. Rap Brown and Governor Marvin Mandel and made many excellent courtroom sketches.  The family was very grateful for the help of Archives' staff and wants much of the collection to come to the Archives.
• Organization of American Historians session on the history of Maryland communities
Dr. Papenfuse told the Commission that he is planning to attend this meeting in April at which he will be chairing a session of younger historians studying towns and communities in Maryland.  There will also be a commentary from Lorena Walsh who has worked at the Archives extensively and has just published a book, From Slavery to Salvation, which deals with slavery in Virginia on Carter's Grove Plantation.  Eric Papenfuse is also presenting a paper at this meeting.
• research on Robert Swailes, a legislator disciplined by the House of Delegates
• public lecture on The Peggy Stewart and other Burning Issues in the Maritime History of Annapolis

  Recent Acquisitions

• State Agency Records (accessions & transfers)
• Special Collections
Dr. Papenfuse encouraged the Commission to visit the Archives' web site to look at its accessions and special collections.

Finding Aids, Reference Services, and Publications

• program to preserve card indexes and to make them accessible through the world wide web
Dr. Papenfuse showed the Commission a card index of pension records as viewed by someone looking at it in the search room on a monitor.  These cards are on high acid paper and when someone leafs through them, they break/deteriorate.  By bringing these cards into image format, they can be read easily, looked at quickly on the screen and individual cards can be printed out and taken home.  This cannot be done with traditional card indexes.  The Archives is in the process of moving all of its index cards into this image format, retrievable this way locally.  For those with high speed access lines, they are also retrievable at home.  The Archives will install more electronic terminals in the space left where the cards indexes were located making additional space for researchers and eventually the image files will be converted to searchable text utilizing Optical Character recognition programs.
• proposed updated and revised study of Thomas W. Henry by Jean Libby
Dr. Papenfuse wrote the Foreword to a book entitled From Slavery to Salvation, written by Jean Libby, about an African American minister from Baltimore whose name was found on a slip of paper in John Brown's coat when he was arrested in Harper's Ferry.  Ms. Libby wants to expand this book to include another African American minister named Samuel Green who is the only person ever arrested and imprisoned for ten years for owning a copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  Ms. Libby would like to merge the two books into one with support from the Archives as a subsidized publication.  A proposal will be presented at a future meeting.
• status report on the revised Maryland A New Guide to the Old Line State
The whole manuscript is now under review and the book is scheduled for publication next spring by Johns Hopkins University Press.  It will contain a large number of illustrations drawn from the Archives' photographic collections.
• the Archives on the World Wide Web
• Museum Without Walls
• two new exhibits: black history and women's history
Dr. Papenfuse also encouraged the members of the Commission to visit the Museum Without Walls on the Archives' web site to see the exhibits in honor of  Black and Womens' History Months.

Education & Outreach

• Summer Internship Program
• matching funds from Morgan State University
Dr. Papenfuse announced that Morgan State University has offered a matching grant to fund internships for two students in the Archives' summer internship program.  Dr. Phillips was responsible for making this program possible.  With Mr. Nelson's help, the Archives has also been receiving similar support and volunteers from St. John's College.
On a motion by Mr. Nelson, seconded by Judge Bell, the Commission approved the acceptance of the Morgan State University internship matching grant and expressed its appreciation to St. John's College for its continuing support.
•  NEH, Anne Arundel County Schools, Maryland State Archives Collaborative Program
• March 11 visit of Carol Parham, Superintendent of Schools and announcement of a $15,000 prize to one of the participating teachers

Dr. Papenfuse reported that Superintendent Parham, at the suggestion of Leonard Blackshear, had visited the Archives/Anne Arundel County Public Schools teachers' institute to talk about her family genealogy. Ms. Parham's visit was a surprise to the teachers taking part and proved a great success.  Archives' staff had found a great deal more information about her family in Calvert County and showed it to her on the Archives' internal web site.  She was extremely moved, especially by the biography of her great grandfather.  The institute is funded by a $170,000 grant from the NEH, and Ms. Parham indicated her strong support of the use of the materials prepared under the grant in the school system.
• plans for Maryland Day with the Governor, the Comptroller, author Ann Jensen, and a 4th grade class from Anne Arundel County
Dr. Papenfuse reported that on March 25, Maryland Day, he and the Chairman of the Commission would be joining the Governor in the Governor's Reception Room to read and talk to a 4th grade class from Annapolis Elementary School about Leonard Calvert, the first governor of Maryland.  The session will feature a new book, Leonard Calvert and the Maryland Adventure by Ann Jensen.  Ms. Jensen and the book's illustrator will be present to talk with the the class.

Administrative & Fiscal Matters

• need for a resolution clarifying the meaning of the Archives of Maryland Series
Dr. Papenfuse reported that the Legislative auditors have questioned whether the Archives has the right to deposit all income into the Archives of Maryland Fund.  This fund was created two years ago as a special fund with a trust fund embedded in it.  By law both the special fund account and the trust fund (from which only the interest earned can be spent) are audited by the State Auditors.  At present all income is deposited to the Fund and then, as funds are need for expenditures, transferred to the Consolidated Publications Account from which, by budget amendment, funds are appropriated and spent.  What is taken out of the Archives fund is anything that it costs the Archives to do business above and beyond what it gets in the way of appropriated funds.  This means that about one third of what it costs the Achives to do business is paid for out of income to the Archives fund.  The auditors have questioned whether it has been clearly stated that the Archives has the right to deposit everything it earns into this fund.  The issue centers around the definition of the Archives of Maryland Series and the Archives' right to accumlating interest on the unspent balance.  The amount of money involved is approximately $40,000.

The following resolution was proposed:  It is hereby resolved that all copies of documents in whatever form that are produced, as well as all finding aids in what ever form they are produced, as well as any interpretive booklets, pamphlets, and other materials in what ever form  produced, by the State Archives or for the State Archives, are considered to be publications in the Archives of Maryland series, and that any income received from those copies, finding aids, interpretive booklets, pamphlets, and other materials should be deposited to the Archives of Maryland fund account.

On a motion by Judge Bell, seconded by Mr. Nelson, the Commission approved the proposed resolution.
 

• status of tobacco litigation copy requests
The Commission was given a demonstration on how the Archives' databases can be searched for documents relating to tobacco.  It is a very efficient system for finding documents and also means that the originals remain at the Archives where they can be retrieved for verification purposes.  To date no other archives in the world employs such a system of retrieval and verification.  All of the tobacco imaging work is being paid for by the litigants.  The Chairman noted that his interest in the problems caused by the smoking of tobacco goes back to his service in the Legislature with a bill he introduced for honest labeling of cigarette packages, a copy of which he had given the Archives.
• recordation and preservation system for over-sized court materials:  the proposed Washington County Court pilot project
The Commission was shown the prototype program that the Archives has proposed to the courts for recording, cataloging, accessing, and providing facsimile copies of oversized plats on-line.  It has the potential of considerable savings through eliminating duplication of recordation and ensuring that security copies of all recorded instruments are maintained permanently at the Archives.
• Biennial Audit- status report
deferred until the final report is in hand.
• Securing non-general fund support to access & preserve the historical record
• status of the Ameritech/Library of Congress grant proposal
• proposed cooperative program in the filming and/or scanning of Maryland newspapers from the Library of Congress
• status of the proposal for private support of the cost of filming and scanning
Dr. Papenfuse explained to the Commission that a private collector had approached the Archives asking if we could pay for the microfilming of newspapers from the Library of Congress and, in return, obtain the originals.  This individual is an internationally known collector of newspapers, has a business of selling newspapers and is a fellow member of the American Antiquarian Society with Dr. Papenfuse.  The Chairman asked if there was room to store them.  Dr. Papenfuse said "yes," there is.  Dr. Ridgway asked if the collection includes 18th century newspapers.  Dr. Papenfuse replied that there are some 18th century newspapers but most are 19th century which will deteriorate over time.  He also said that this could turn out to be a cooperative project with the Maryland Historical Society.
proposed resolution:  The Commission refers the proposal to a subcommittee of the Commission consisting of three members from the Commission who will review the proposal and recommend a course of action for the Archivist to follow with regard to the proposal for private support for the cost of conservation microfilming and scanning.  The Commission encourages continuing with the conservation microfilming of Maryland newspapers and the filming for compensation of non-Maryland newspapers as long as all available Maryland newspapers are given priority for filming.
 
The Commission established a subcommittee consisting of Dr. Ridgway, Mr. deLorenzo, and Dr. Phillips to explore this matter further.
 

Budget Issues- Present & Future

• FY 1999 Budget submittal
Status Report on Legislative Committee Recommendations
• The Archival Challenge: ensuring quality, reliability and permanence for all forms of the historical record
• The Archival Challenge: space for existing collections and future acquisitions- beyond the year 2000
• The Archival Challenge: providing a spatial context for interpretation and education
Dr. Papenfuse reported that the Archives has had its budget hearings.  The Archives' budget for the current year is 39 percent over the previous year's appropriated funds, and the legislative budget analyst has recommended that the Archives' budget be cut only with regard to printing the Maryland Manual and for research and printing of a new book on Government House.  A major new initiative included in the recommended budget and constituting the lion's share of the increase is a proposal for a viable electronic archives to hold on to electronic records of which there are no paper copies, and to make sure that these records are kept useable and reliable.  The Archives will be working with the Annapolis Data Center.

Apart from appropriations designated to help cope with the rapidly increasing number of archival record series exisiting only in electronic format, there are few signficant increases in the recommended appropriations.  In addition to the general funds the Archives expects to receive, we will have to increase the revenue deposited in Archives of Maryland Fund.

On a motion by Judge Bell, seconded by Dr. Ridgway, the Commission approved the outline of the proposed budget for FY 1999 and Dr. Papenfuse's efforts to retain the funds relating to the printing of the Maryland Manual and the book on Government House.

Forthcoming special meetings of the Commission & events of interest

• Maryland Senate, First Citizen Awards
 

Special Presentations

The Commission presented a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to Chairman Goldstein to commemorate his recent 85th birthday.

On behalf of the Commission, Dr. Papenfuse presented Shirley Bodziak with a framed print of the Ogilby map of 1671 in gratitude for her many years of service to the Commission.

to be determined by the chairman in consultation with the Commission

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by the Chairman at 1:35 p.m.
 
 
 
Approved by the Hall of Records Commission, September 1, 1998

____________________________________________
The Honorable Robert Mack Bell, Chairman

____________________________________________
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Jr. Secretary

Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse
State Archivist

Email: If you have an Email account linked to your WEB browser, click here to activate your mail program to send an inquiry or message to me at archives@mdarchives.state.md.us or contact me at (410) 260-6403.

© Copyright 1998 Maryland State Archives