Hall of Records Commission
Agenda

for a Meeting 
at the Maryland State Archives
Electronic Classroom
12 Noon
March 23, 1999

Attendees & Introduction of new member, Peta N. Richkus

Reports and Minutes of Previous Meetings

• September 1, 1998
• Special meetings and Celebratory events
• Opening of exhibit of items from the Peabody Collection at Government House, October 15, 1998
• Maryland Judicial Conference, October 30, 1999.  Speech by Edward C. Papenfuse
• George Washington's Birthday Ceremony, Old Senate Chamber, February 22, 1999
• First Citizen Award, Senate Chamber, March 2, 1999.  Remarks by Edward C. Papenfuse
Proposed Action: motion of approval of minutes (as amended, if amended), and recognition of the special meetings of the Commission as defined by standing resolution

Records Retention and Disposal Schedules

• Retention
• Disposal

Proposed Action: motion of approval of Records Retention and Disposal Schedules as presented

Old Business

• report of the subcommittee on newspaper preservation (Dr. Ridgeway, Dr. Phillips, Mr. deLorenzo, staffed by Nancy Bramucci).  Defer with Proposed Resolution of an additional charge to investigate the best means of centrally preserving the master negatives of all newspapers, serials, and periodicals published in Maryland and for the Archives to extend its Newspaper guide to include serials and periodicals such as Niles' Register and Benjamin Lundy's Universal Genius of Emancipation.

Archivist's Report & Staff Activities 
     (see the Maryland State Archives Bulldog for additional details)

• State House Trust:  Supplemental Budget Request for State House exhibits and Historic Structures Report
• Louis L. Goldstein Statue Competition:  Report of Subcommittee for the Louis L. Goldstein Statue to the Maryland Commission on Artistic Property
• Audio/video presentations of the Governor's Inaugural, the State of the State, and the State of the Judiciary
• MD Supplemental Retirement Plan (MSRP) agency web site
• Preserving Oversized Materials:  A Model System for the Courts for Recordation and Access to Survey Records

Recent Acquisitions

• Special Collections sc990323.html
• Government Records  032399t.html
•  recent gift

Finding Aids, Reference Services, and Publications

• Archives of Maryland (Documents for the Classroom)
• Society of Senates Past Biographical Research Project
• see Special Presentations below

Education & Outreach

• Teaching in the Age of Internet: web-based courses to be taught by the State Archivist
• Maryland History (Fall 1998, Johns Hopkins University
• Baltimore and the Bay (Spring 1999, Johns Hopkins University)
• Public History (Spring 1999, University of Maryland, with emphasis on Maryland as a model)
• Dr. Papenfuse has been informed by the State Ethics Commission that his teaching appears to be separate and distinct from his work as State Archivist and that, based upon the information he supplied, is appropriate and within the guidelines of the ethics laws of Maryland for him to be compensated in addition to his salary as State Archivist.
• Summer Internship Program

Administrative & Fiscal Matters

• A grant to the Archives from the Information Technology Fund to place hard to find and imperiled Constitutional, Legal and Administrative records on the Archives web site as images and as searchable text.
• an overview of the project and an example of the work in progress
• The impact of the year 2000 on Archives' databases and programs and making the Archives Y2K compliant
• brief discussion of the issues, steps taken by the Archives, and status of our pending request for assistance from the Y2K Office of the Department of Budget and Management

proposed resolution:  That the plan for resolving Y2K compliance issues at the Archives is critical to the future management of permanently valuable records of Maryland, as well as to the ability of the State Archives to continue to manage and increase the non-general fund component of its operational costs (currently 35% of its total operating budget).  It encompasses only work that is currently conducted through the use of non-2YK compliant dBASE IV programs and databases, all of which must be converted to compliant and functioning programs and databases by January 1, 2000 in order for the Archives to function at its current level of mangement and service to the public.
 
• Audit Report:

major issues-

1) the auditors argue that honorariums cannot be paid to management staff from Federal grants, even though the work is done on personal time and at personal expense with the approval of the Federal granting agency. The issue for this audit was resolved (but not to the satisfaction of the employee or the Archives) by the employee returning the honorarium to a holding account pending directions from the Federal Granting Agency with regard to its final disposition.  (update)

2) the auditors dispute the Commission's definition of the Archives of Maryland Series and contend that approximately $40,000 in interest should have been earned by the General Fund instead of by the Archives Fund. The Archives has requested an opinion on this matter from the Attorney General - a copy of the letter of request is attached.

• Budget Issues, Present and Future:
FY 2000 budget proposals
• 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

Forthcoming special meetings of the Commission & events of interest

• Maryland Day, March 25, 1999, events
• Boys' Latin students and Author Ann Jensen with the Governor at the State House
• Lt. Governor Townsend presents the Annual Colonial Society Essay Contest award (judged by the State Archivist) in Baltimore
• Maryland House and Senate recognize the 350th Anniversary of the passage of An Act Concerning Religion
• Reception at the Archives for Pulitzer Prize winner William Warner's new book "Into the Porcupine Cave ...," proceeds from which will benefit the Archives and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Special Presentations

• An Act Concerning Religion, April 21, 1649
• A New Guide to the Old Line State (second edition)

Next meeting

Adjournment

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 1999 Maryland State Archives