Hall of Records Commission
Minutes

for a Meeting 
at the Maryland State Archives
Electronic Classroom
12 Noon
June 4, 2002

Chairman Bell called the meeting to order at 12:18 p.m.

Chairman Bell welcomed the newest member of the Hall of Records Commission, Treasurer Nancy Kopp who was sworn in on February 14, 2002. Treasurer Kopp said she had mixed feelings when she realized what the date was going to be, but now thinks it was a lovely day.  She said that the job of Treasurer is multifaceted and diverse.  However, she has always loved the Archives and thought very highly of Dr. Papenfuse's work, so to be part of it is truly an honor.  Chairman Bell said he looks forward to the Treasurer's help.

Reports and Minutes of Previous Meetings

• November 14, 2001
Secretary Richkus noted in the November 14, 2001 minutes that the five-year State-wide Records Inventory Report was still in process. She wanted to amend the minutes to reflect that it was completed and that a copy was forwarded electronically to the State Archives. She brought along a status report for Dr. Papenfuse that she would like to brief the members on, as well as a printed copy of the report itself.

Secretary Richkus advised that there is an inventory of permanent and non-permanent records.  This is now available electronically.  The Department of General Services set up a web site so that agency records managers could more easily provide the information that is collected every five years. This is the fourth report. Although a little tardy, for comparison sake, this was the last report as of 1995.??  Unfortunately, there is still not 100% response from State agencies (the response rate is about the same as in 1995), but the amount, accuracy, and usability of the information much better serves the State. The purpose of the five-year report is to allow State agencies to effectively, efficiently, and properly manage their own records, and also to support the Archives and its requirements for those permanent records.

In the transmittal of this report, an "after action report" was put together to explain what was done, the lessons that were  learned, and how to go forward.  The report talks about the efforts DGS went through to collect the information and what it was going to be doing in the interim. The electronic enabling of the project allows each agency, on an ongoing basis, as opposed to every five years, to maintain that information.  Because the State-wide Records Inventory Report is only required every five years, it had fallen through the cracks, but when it was brought to Secretary Richkus' attention, she got on it.  As the last report was paper-driven, extra time was taken to re-engineer the process and bring it up to the technology that Dr. Papenfuse and his staff so ably demonstrate.  A schedule has been put together to prompt managers to start the process,  recheck the technology, retest the system, and notify all agencies, etc., so the July 2, 2005 report will be submitted to the Archives on time.

Dr. Papenfuse gave the report to Pat Melville for review.
 

• Special Meetings and Celebratory Events
• November 15 & 16: Installation of Exhibit of State-Owned artwork in Government House:
Dr. Papenfuse advised that the Archives has been involved in the installation of State-owned artwork in Government House and referred to materials in the commissioners' packets;
• February 11:  Breakfast reception in honor of 140th anniversary of the Department of General Services
• February 13:  Presentation of the First Citizen Awards and presentation of Dear Papa, Dear Charley and  Speech by Dr. Papenfuse to the Maryland Senate:
Dr. Papenfuse thanked Senator Miller for a most impressive ceremony in which the First Citizen Awards were presented, as well as a copy of the book Dear Papa, Dear Charley, which is the correspondence between Charles Carroll of Carrollton and his father. The editing of the Carroll Papers has been supported by the General Assembly and the Archives for many years;
• February 14:  Swearing in of Nancy K. Kopp as the new Treasurer of Maryland;
• February 18:  George Washington's Birthday Celebration in the Old Senate Chamber.  Speech by Senator Brian E. Frosh;
• Maryland Day: Annual Maryland Colonial Society Essay Contest Award. Speech by Dr. Papenfuse;
• April 3:  Unveiling of statue of Louis L. Goldstein.
Dr. Nelson offered a motion of approval of the minutes as amended, and recognition of the special meetings of the Commission as defined by standing resolution, seconded by Dr. Phillips and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

Records Retention and Disposal Schedules

• Retention
• Disposal

Secretary Richkus offered a motion of approval of the Records Retention and Disposal Schedules as presented, seconded by Dr. Phillips and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

Old Business

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

• November 30:  Meeting of the Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration and Impact of Slavery's History and Legacy in Maryland;
• December 5:  Meeting of Archives' Reference and Research Advisory Committee;
• January 8:  Welcome of delegation from the Anhui Provincial Commission of Agriculture;
• January 16: Briefing to representatives of the Okinawa, Japan Prefectural Archives about the reference operations of the Maryland State Archives, management of the records, and administration of the facility;
• February 4:  Address by Dr. Papenfuse to the Annapolis History Consortium re: 1-12 Francis Street;
• February 15:  The Janet and Roger Levin Lecture, Boys' Latin School, by Dr. Papenfuse:
Dr. Papenfuse advised the Commission of his lecture on Abraham Lincoln's reading habits.  He referred the members to newspaper clippings in today's packet and asked that they read through them quickly. He then asked for their thoughts on them and their meaning.  The clippings talk about the Emancipation in Missouri, Lincoln and Johnson's platform, letters found on the battlefield from confederate soldiers saying how disillusioned they were with the war, Sherman's orders for his march on Georgia, and two favorable reviews of Lincoln (one by an Englishman and one by a very famous minister, Henry War Beecher).  The importance of these clippings is that they were found in Lincoln's pocket on the day he died, which gives them a different kind of meaning,  When he had the occasion to talk on a particular topic, he could pull out a newspaper clipping and say this is what the papers had to say. Also in the document packet is the Baltimore Sun for April 17, 1865 noting the death of Abraham Lincoln;
• March 22:  150th Anniversary to the Comptroller's Office;
• April 10:  Board of Public Works approval of funding to the Maryland Historical Trust for Phase II of the Historic Structure Report on the Maryland State House;
• April 19:   Welcoming remarks by Dr. Papenfuse at the spring meeting of  MARAC, Beyond the Basics;
• April 24:  Meeting of the Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration and Impact of Slavery's History and Legacy in Maryland;
• April 25:  Land Patent Hearing on Warrant No. 96:
Dr. Papenfuse advised that he conducted a Land Patent Hearing which was one of the first in several years.  The Deputy Commissioner of Land Patents, Richard Richardson, did an extraordinary job of research.  As a result, Dr. Papenfuse will have a very good decision that is still pending. Dr. Papenfuse noted that there are still pieces of property in Maryland for which there is no title;
• April 27:  Library Gala Celebration for the dedication of The Raymond Brown Center & Associated Archives, St. Mary's Seminary & University;
• May 1:  Address by Dr. Papenfuse to the spring meeting of the Court Clerk's Association (handout);
• May 14:  Address by Dr. Papenfuse to the Department of Assessment and Taxation's annual management meeting in Frederick, MD:
Dr. Papenfuse was asked to address the tax assessors of the State to give them a sense of the importance of what they are doing and the importance of tax assessment records to the historical records. Dr. Papenfuse also explained that we are in tough budgetary times, and someone in the audience suggested that the Archives participate in a piece of legislation that almost made it through budget and taxation the last time.  This proposed legislation would close a loophole in corporation taxes that has allowed corporations to avoid some $60 million in taxes;
• May 15:  Visit by Dr. Papenfuse to Howard County Historical Society re:  copying Carroll manuscript relating to Slavery;
• May 16:  Bill signing ceremony for SB 108, regarding the filing and recordation of state highway plats:
This is new legislation that gives the Archives a function as a court of record and allows it to distribute that information electronically.  The Archives is the first State agency legally empowered to distribute an original record as an electronic record;
• May 17:  Meeting of Archives' Reference and Research Advisory Committee;
• May 19:  Presentation to the National Trust for Historic Preservation of plans to restore America's first cathedral;
• May 21:  Visit to Historical Society of Cecil County by Dr. Papenfuse re:  Thomas Jefferson letter:
Dr. Papenfuse called the members' attention to a letter in today's packet from Thomas Jefferson to the delegates of the Delaware Baptist Association.  He said that there was a front page article in the Sun about the discovery of this letter that was discovered by people from the Elk Neck Preservation Society who were renovating a house on Elk Neck. What the article did not report was that the letter was wrapped in the original draft from the Baptist Association to Jefferson. On the outside of the draft was written "to the Mirror" which Dr. Papenfuse interpreted to mean that the letter was meant for publication in the Wilmington Mirror.  With some help from the University of Delaware Library, Dr. Papenfuse discovered that, on September 9, 1801, this letter was published in the Mirror. The Archives was the first to find this out, as even the Jefferson Papers did not know about it. The Jefferson letter has been appraised by Christie's at between $600,000 to $700,000;
• May 28: Meeting of the Commission to Coordinate the Study, Commemoration and Impact of Slavery's History and Legacy in Maryland at the Archives;
• Audio/video presentations of the Governor's State of the State and the State of the Judiciary.

Special Announcements

Dr. Papenfuse announced the resignation of Chris Allan as Deputy State Archivist and, at the same time, welcomed the Archives' new Deputy State Archivist, Tim Baker.  Dr. Papenfuse said that Chris's leaving is very difficult for him, and that this building would not be here if it were not for Chris Allan.  Chris had been working on the staff as an assistant to Lois Carr and Dr. Papenfuse soon discovered that Chris was interested in research, understood the history of the state, and cared about his work assignments. When it came to designing and building the new Hall of Records, a project that was strongly supported by the Commission, Dr. Papenfuse needed someone who understood construction to make sure things went smoothly.  Chris was a natural choice as he came from a construction background. He attended every progress meeting on the building, and the fact that there were very few change orders and the building was brought in at almost $3 million under contract are thanks to Chris' dedication and hard work.

Chris also realized that the future of the Archives lay in dealing with the electronic record effectively.  He was the first person to think about networking and he was able to build an inexpensive networking system.  Chris has built an IT operation at the Archives that has no peer in the state.

Chairman Bell presented Chris Allan with a Governor's Proclamation and thanked him on behalf of the Commission for the many years and contributions he has made, as well as best wishes as he goes on to a new challenge.  The Governor's Proclamation reads:

Governor of the State of Maryland to Christopher N. Allan
Greetings:
Be it known that on behalf of the citizens of this state, in recognition of the dedication and professionalism you have demonstrated during the long and distinguished career as a State employee, in honor of your significant contributions to the great State of Maryland during your association with the Maryland State Archives, and as an expression of our admiration, great respect and gratitude of 26 years of exemplary service to the citizens of Maryland, we are please to confer upon you this Governor's Citation given under my hand and the great seal of the State of Maryland this 4th day of June 2002.
Parris N. Glendening, Governor
John T. Willis, Secretary of State

Senator Miller presented Chris with a Senate Resolution congratulating him on 25 years of dedicated service.  He said that not only had Chris been diligent in protecting the State's property and history, but he always had a smile on his face.  He said that he is proud of what Chris has done for Maryland, and the Archives' facility is much better for Chris's having been here.

As Delegate Conroy could not attend today's meeting, Dr. Papenfuse presented Chris with a House Resolution on her behalf which read:

In appreciation of your 25 years of dedicated service to the public and your tireless efforts to preserve and protect Maryland's historical records.

Lastly, Dr. Papenfuse read the following personal note and presented Chris with a gift certificate from Home Depot:

Dear Chris:
On behalf of myself, the staff, and the Hall of Records Commission, enclosed is a small token of our appreciation for your years of dedicated service to the Archives.  The people of Maryland and all our patrons around the world owe you a great debt.  You've helped make MSA a viable, lasting collective memory.  We could not have done it without you.  It goes without saying that we will sorely miss your daily counsel and advice.  As you leave here, you can take great pride in what you personally have accomplished.  I look forward to working with you on a newly Friends of the Archives organization.
With all best wishes,
Ed

Chris said how wonderful a group the Commission has been over the years.  The support they have offered the Archives is unknown to both the public and often the Archives' staff.  The Commission's interest and concern for the welfare of the Archives is commendable and above and beyond the call of duty.  He said he is sad to be leaving but, after 25 years, it is time to do something new.  He noted that the people who work at the Archives are as dedicated to the work of the agency as in any institution in the country and it has been a great privilege to work with such qualified and exceptional people.  He gave special thanks to Lois Carr, historian for the St. Mary's City Commission, for allowing him the opportunity to come to Annapolis and work at the Archives. He also thanked Dr. Papenfuse, without whose assistance and encouragement the Archives could not have accomplished all that is has.

Next, Chris introduced his successor, Tim Baker who he has known since 1995 when Tim was director of support services in the Schaefer administration. Tim then worked with the transition there and became part of the Glendening administration for about a year. Thereafter, he took a job at the Department of Planning where he rose to become its CIO. According to Chris, Tim has many of the skills required to work at the Archives, including understanding IT and government.  Chris is very pleased to recommend Tim for the position of Deputy State Archivist.  Dr. Papenfuse added that an exception was made in order to hire Tim.

Grant to the Archives for the publication of the Maryland State Archives Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland

About 20 years ago, Dr. Papenfuse published a book called The Historical Maps of Maryland.  With the assistance of his coauthor, Joe Coale, Dr. Papenfuse was able to obtain a $100,000 grant  from the Henry Rosenberg Foundation to do a 20th anniversary edition of the Atlas.  It will be twice as large as the original atlas and will contain every county wall map ever published and a total of 234 color illustrations.  The Atlas will be available for distribution next Maryland Day (March 25, 2003) and all of the images will be available for reproduction.  Dr. Papenfuse is very grateful to the Rosenberg Foundation for its support.
Dr. Nelson offered a resolution of thanks to the Rosenberg Foundation and, in particular, Henry A. Rosenberg, Jr. for his support of the new edition of the "Maryland State Archives Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland," seconded by Dr. Phillips and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

Recent Gifts and Acquisitions

• Special Collections:
• Gift of 1930 census for Maryland and the 1930 Census Enumeration Districts:
Dr. Papenfuse pointed out that a member of the Archives' Reference and Research Advisory Committee purchased the 1930 census for use in the Search Room.
Secretary Richkus offered a Resolution of thanks and appreciation for the recent gifts and, in particular, the gift of the 1930 census, seconded by Dr. Ridgway and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.
• Government Records;
• Archives Endowment: Miscellaneous gifts to the Archives.


At a meeting on May 22, 2002, Treasurer Kopp asked Dr. Papenfuse to explain what the Archives is doing to organize a Friend's group and how the Archives could bring in private support.  Dr. Papenfuse reported that Chris Allan has offered to put together an active Friend's group to do some fundraising for the Archives.  Dr. Papenfuse is also doing everything in his power to encourage people to give to the Archives in a variety of ways.  In terms of direct gifts, the Archives takes in generally $10,000-$11,000 a year.  We are actively going after grants and assistance from private and quasi-public sources.

Finding Aids, Reference Services, and Publications

• Additions to finding aids and publications on the Archives' web sites:
• plats.net:
Dr. Papenfuse reported that the Archives is very active with regard to its major income producer, plats.net (User Name:  plato, Password:  plato#).  The number of people using this site from the courts directly and from surveyors and engineers who know that they can get to subdivision and condominium plats in their offices is extraordinary.  It has saved the State a considerable amount of money in terms of storage and expense of access, for very little money for the system. Currently, Baltimore City is the only jurisdiction not on-line, but the Archives hopes to have a signed contract for installation by the end of this fiscal year.  Plats.net is an on-going project in which the Archives continues to post all recent subdivision plats. It is also pushing each of the counties to encompass more and more series of records that relate to land ownership in order to be a true land records service entity.
• aomol.net:
Dr. Papenfuse stated that archivesofmarlandonline.net is an extraordinary undertaking in which we are trying to bring all of the most important printed archival documents on-line, ranging from the Codes and Compilations to the reports of the Comptroller of the Treasury to constitutional records.  Every constitutional convention is now on-line with all amendments relating to the Constitution.  This site is even being used by a site in Germany that is trying to bring together constitutions of all the nations of the world online.
• mdag.net:
Dr. Papenfuse advised that we are still doing work on the Potomac River site for the Attorney General's Office, even though the Archives has no funding for this work.  It is important for us to keep the record up-to-date and provide sufficient information so that the lawyers who are still arguing before the Supreme Court have the resources they need to make their arguments on Maryland's behalf.
• msaref.net
Dr. Papenfuse instituted a whole new approach to dealing with all of the Archives reference activities through msaref.net.  Staff handles all requests by patrons for reference work through msaref.net, which is organized by different series (e.g., mail, fax, email, phone, etc.).  Since March 2002 when this web site was instituted, the Archives has received 1,874 requests.
• ecpclio.net:
Dr. Papenfuse demonstrated the work he is doing for the new Atlas, using ecpclio.net by showing a rare map of Harford County, in color, that was missed in the first book.  He advised of an agreement with Hopkins Press that these images will not be made available on the web until after the whole press run is sold out. This is because the total cost of the book will be around $110,000, and Hopkins Press wants to be sure their market is secure before these images are made available on the web.
• Barter, Bits, Bills, and Tobacco, the Story of Money in Early Maryland by Willard R. Mumford:
Dr. Papenfuse referred the Commissioners to the newest publication in today's packet, Barter, Bits, Bills, and Tobacco, which explains the currency in the colonial period.
• Statistics and reflections:  web-based services of the Archives. Chris Allan next reported on data accumulation and Internet activity for Fiscal Year 2002 as follows:
 
• Last year, the Archives provided services over the Internet to 1,142,540 patrons who were able to access 190 gigabytes of data.  The number of requests received amounted to 38,641,292;
• During Fiscal Year 2002, we estimate that 1,322,723 patrons will access the Archives over the Internet, and they will be able to make use of 447 gigabytes of data.  The number of requests will exceed 49 million;
• The growth in this aspect of our operations is unabated.  We have been able to add 257 gigabytes of data for public access in the course of the last twelve months.  There has been a 16 percent increase in patronage, and the number of requests has grown 27 percent during that time;
• Much of the effort of providing information has been focused on two sites: the Archives of Maryland On-line and plats.net.  Use of the Archives of Maryland site grew from 3.8 million requests last year to over 7.6 million requests this year.  Access to plats.net during Fiscal Year 2001 amounted to 1.4 million requests.  With installation of the system completed in 23 jurisdictions this year, the number of requests rose to over 3.4 million.

Education and Outreach

Courses taught and lectures given by Dr. Papenfuse (see prior resolution on 4/19/2000):

• February 20:  Participated in lecture series, Democracy and the Legacy of St. Mary's City, in St. Mary's City;
• March 10:  Gave multimedia presentation, American History as Fact and Fiction, at Johns Hopkins University for Talented Youth Odyssey;
• May 6-8:  Participated as an instructor in the Leadership Institute for Administrators of State Archives, Records Management, and Information Management Programs by presenting on Building a Strong,Technologically Advanced Archival Program, at NARA, College Park;
• July 15:  American History in Maryland Program at the Archives in conjunction with UMBC re:  Revolutionary America, Women and 19th Century U.S. History, America in Miniature: Traveling Across Maryland 1920-1976;
• October 18:  Judicial Institute course on Maryland Legal History:
Dr. Papenfuse reported that he will participate in the Judicial Institute course on Maryland Legal History during the Revolution.  It is a fun course for him because the audience is judges.  Very little work has been done on the evolution of the Declaration of Rights, and the Archives has all the detailed notes that were taken when the Declaration of Rights was created by the Convention in 1776.  No one has looked at the process by which that Declaration of Rights came to be written;
• Fall 2002: Race with the Law: The Maryland Experience coteaching with Larry Gibson at University of Maryland School of Law;
• Spring 2003: Legal History Seminar: Building Baltimore coteaching with Garrett Power at University of Maryland School of Law;
• March 19, 2003: Judicial Institute course on Maryland Legal History in the Post-Revolutionary Era.

 
• Summer Internship Program Plans for summer 2002:
Emily Squires reported that through its own extremely limited funds, coupled with donations and matching support from outside institutions, the Archives plans to continue its internship program this summer to conduct research, to preserve the public record, and to make those records more accessible.

The Archives will be continuing its largest project, Searching for Ancestors Who Were Slaves, by exploring the history and legacy of slavery as it involves the Underground Railroad in Maryland.  Our approach is based on some excellent work that was begun last year by our volunteers, managed by Chris Haley. We will be exploring public documents such as court dockets, jail records, and pardon files to find instances of individuals arrested, charged, and/or tried for attempting to assist slave escapes and resistance. We will follow those cases through by looking at newspaper accounts and traditional biographical research studies. We will also be stripping census data to find population clusters of slave and free African Americans and to find the logical areas were escapes would flee, due to terrain and access to resources such as information, shelter, food, waterways, and other people to blend in with;

To conduct research this summer, the Archives has received funding from Maryland Public Television, Morgan State University, and Goucher College. We have grant proposals in the works to both the National Park Service and the US Department of Education’s Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program. We have cooperative relationships to share resources forming with the new African American History Museum in Baltimore, Slavery Commission, Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, Hampton National Historic Site, and the National Park Service Network to Freedom Program.

Also this summer, under a grant from the Maryland Historical Trust, the Archives will be continuing the complete documentation of the history of the Maryland State House as part of the the Historic Structure Report for the building.  The research has succeeded already, over the past 12 months, in assembling a huge quantity of documents and images relating to the design, construction, alterations, maintenance, and restoration of the building from 1769 to the present. These resources are accessible through the web site mdstatehouse.net. The focus of this summer will include Accounting Records, Board of Public Works files, Maryland State Papers, GOVERNOR (General File) S1041, and the records of DGS.

Somerset County
In partnership with Salisbury State University and the Edward Naab Center, the Archives is continuing to build on the good work of another of our volunteers, John Lyon, and past summer interns who spent a great deal of time on the historical mapping of Somerset County.  The goal of this summer’s collaboration will be to match the geographical data to a cultural/biographical study of the residents of this area through time.  Also, in an effort to preserve and to make the primary documents more accessible, we plan to place the records of the Somerset County land office and the prerogative court online.

 
Special Collections:
This summer's inventory project will focus on the Archives' map collections, particularly, the Huntingfield Corporation Map Collection (MSA SC 1399) and the Maryland State Archives Map Collection (MSA SC 1427).  The goal will be to produce a complete inventory of the Huntingfield Collection and verify the location of all items in the collection database. An inventory of the MSA Map Collection will be made broader and we will also note the condition of each item and earmark maps needing future conservation.

As part of its imaging and book production efforts, the Archives plans to generate and place land records on-line as part of plats.net and mdlandrec.net for the following jurisdictions in FY 03: Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Calvert County, and Worcester County. This will be in addition to Probate Index 1. Following specified procedures for generating perl volumes, the intern, coupled with the efforts of student programmers, will assist in processing, post-production editing, and image quality control.


Library/Govpubs:

With matching assistance from St. John’s College, this summer's program will help with accessioning and bibliographic control of library and government publication materials.


Dr. Nelson offered a Resolution of Appreciation for providing funds for the 2002 Internship Program to St. John's College, Morgan State University, Goucher College, Maryland Public Television and Maryland Historical Trust, seconded by Mr. Kenderdine and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

Forthcoming special meetings of the Commission & events of interest

• June:  Delegation of China State Archives Bureau, Inner Mongolian Archives Management System, to visit the Archives;
• June 26:  Dr. Papenfuse to participate in Maryland Municipal League Conference, Preserving Your Municipality's History, in Ocean City, MD;
• July 26:  Dr. Papenfuse to address the Council and Geographic Names Authority, Where is Watkins Point?, at the Hyatt Inner Harbor Hotel;
• September 15 or 29:  Dr. Papenfuse to address the Baltimore County Genealogical Society on the occasion of their 25th anniversary, in Towson, MD;
• October 13:  Dr. Papenfuse has been invited to attend conference in Hofgeismar (near Kassel), Germany on creating a reliable web-based resource on the history of Constitutional government. His presentation will feature our Archives of Maryland On-Line web site. The conference organizers will pay all of his expenses for attending. 

Administrative & Fiscal Matters

• Budget Issues, Past, Present and Future:
• February 5:  Archives budget hearing before the House Public Safety & Administration Subcommittee (March 14:  decision meeting);
• February 7:  Archives budget hearing before the Senate Health & Human Services Subcommittee (March 1:  decision meeting);
• March 27:  Letter to Governor Glendening regarding suspension of Criminal Background Check services to the FBI and response;
• May 6:  Letter to Governor Glendening requesting $980,000 to bring land records on-line;
• Staff reductions and revised schedule for opening the search room;
Dr. Papenfuse referred the Commission members to the Archives' organizational chart included in today's packet. This last session of the legislature was a difficult one for the Archives. He asked the Commission to turn to the page showing the analysis of the Archives' expenditures and income projected up through 2004.  The fundamental problem is that the Archives did such a good job with plats.net that its income will be $1 million less than what it was last year.  In simple terms, the Archives is heading into this next fiscal year with a $980,000 deficit.  In moving to offset this deficit, Dr. Papenfuse has proposed income producing projects; some that are already nailed down that will reduce the deficit by about $500,000. These projects include: the State Highway Administration which will give the Archives $143,000; Internet services which will be up somewhat; and distribution of film and images which will be practically double this year. Also, the Archives will still have some income from plats.net for maintenance related to the web site.
Another way the Archives has dealt with the deficit was to let nine contractual employees go.  (Dr. Papenfuse stated that this is bad news to Secretary Richkus, as well, since the Archives will be unable to pay its rent next year to the assessed amount since the Archives' income level will be cut in half.)  Dr. Papenfuse has also written a letter to Governor Glendening (included in today's packet) asking him to seriously consider working on a cooperative project with the Judiciary to bring all retrospective land records on-line and let the Archives play a role in doing that work.  It is a good program designed for Smart Growth.  Judge Bell has kindly offered to support the Archives with a letter to the Governor on our behalf.  In addition, the Archives has asked that serious consideration be given to allowing the Archives a deficiency in fiscal year 2003 to deal with this issue, so that the Archives can aggressively pursue additional income.  Taking staff away does not allow the Archives to go after new income.  Currently, Dr. Papenfuse has not heard back from the Governor, and, unfortunately, he does not have any other solutions at this time.  He stated that in August, the Archives might have another round of layoffs in order to be responsible as a State agency with regard to what we have in the way of resources and how we spend those resources.  At this time, Dr. Papenfuse entertained questions from the Commission and asked for any suggestions they might have.

Senator Miller asked how you do something so well that you incur a budget deficit of $1 million?  Dr. Papenfuse stated that the Archives has, in its proposals to the courts, sufficient work to be done that it could have that income stream if the Judiciary had the money to give to the Archives.  However, the legislature reduced the Judiciary's budget by $30 million, so the Judiciary cannot fund what the Archives already has in its contracts with each of the courts.  Therefore, the Archives offered another activity to get the land records on-line by proposing that ELROI be used for the prospective land records and let the Archives handle the retrospective work.  Next, Senator Miller asked if the bill on land records passed the Senate and Dr. Papenfuse answered in the affirmative.  Additionally, Dr. Papenfuse is also asking the Governor and Legislature to come back to the Land Records Improvement fund next year (which the Archives committee chair said she would do) and pass the increase to the Fund.  If that happens next year, and the money is there, the Archives will not need a deficiency appropriation and is prepared to do the work.  Using Baltimore County as an example, Dr. Papenfuse demonstrated the mdlandrec.net system to the Commission.

• New Special Fund Revenue initiatives:
• Grant proposals (need for motion of approval):
Dr. Papenfuse reported that the Archives put in a grant proposal to the U.S. Department of Education for three years of funding in the amount of $781,811 for research on the Underground Railroad.  However, a partner was needed to give the Archives a private match of $4 to $1.  Therefore, the Executive Secretary of the African American Museum in Baltimore City was approached regarding the resource center in this museum.  The Archives asked if she would be willing to dedicate the resource center to the study of the Underground Railroad, and, if so, what portion of the cost of building the museum would actually go into the resource center.  She wrote back, on behalf of the museum, stating that the resource center would cost $700,000 to construct, and the Archives could use the money as in-kind matching funds.

The National Park Service has less money, but they have been impressed with the work the Archives has done on the Underground Railroad.  Dr. Papenfuse feel there is a good chance the Archives will get this $30,000 grant, as well.

Dr. Papenfuse personally thanked Emily Squires who was responsible for applying for these two grants.  In response to Judge Bell's inquiry as to time frame, Ms. Squires advised that these grants are in the Federal year, FY 2002, and the Archives expects to hear in July about both grants, with the money granted in September 2002.  Dr. Papenfuse noted that it is FY 2003 money.

Treasurer Kopp noticed that between FY 1991 and 1992, the Archives managed to cut back technical, special fees, and operating funds and assumes Dr. Papenfuse kept a record of what was done then when going through the present budget.  Dr. Papenfuse answered in the affirmative.  Treasurer Kopp also asked if other state archives were looked at to see what they were doing.  Dr. Papenfuse answered in the affirmative, stating that a Friends group is a very good idea, as other archives have turned to their Friends for help.  The State Library of Virginia has been cut to 30% and are laying off people, as they became too dependent on General Funds.

Dr. Nelson offered a motion of approval for the grant proposals to the U.S. Department of Education and the National Park Service, seconded by Dr. Ridgway and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.
• mdroads.net
• mdlandrec.net

Next meeting

At the call of the Chair for sometime in late fall

Adjournment

Approved by the Hall of Records Commission, November 13, 2002
 

                                ________________________________________
                                        The Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chairman
 
 
 

                                ________________________________________
                                        Edward C. Papenfuse, Jr., Secretary

Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse
State Archivist

Email: edp@mdarchives.state.md.us

© Copyright Maryland State Archives