Hall of Records Commission Minutes of Meeting  at the Maryland State Archives Electronic Classroom 12 Noon, December 19, 2006

Call to Order by the Chairman

The fall meeting of the Hall of Records Commission began at 12:19 pm, December 19, 2006, at the Maryland State Archives, with Chief Judge Robert M. Bell presiding.

Special Announcements/Opening Remarks

Reports and Minutes of Previous Meetings

• June 20, 2006


Mr. Freedlander offered a motion of approval of the minutes as amended, if amended, seconded by Dr. Ridgway and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

• Special Meetings and Celebratory Events
• October 8:  Dr. Papenfuse attended the Baltimore City Historical Society’s Sixth Annual Mayor’s Brunch Reception and History Honors recognizing the contributions of Nanette (Mrs. Kieffer) Mitchell, the good shepherd of the DuBois Circle, the oldest book club of African American women in the city of Baltimore
• November 4:  Dr. Papenfuse attended the Grand Reopening Ceremony for the Baltimore Basilica, providing tours of the undercroft to Governor-Elect O'Malley and his family


Dr. Ridgway offered a motion of the special meetings of the Commission as defined by standing resolution, seconded by Mr. Freedlander and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

Records Retention and Disposal

• Retention Schedules
• Disposals

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

Archivist's Report and Staff Activities
 (see the Maryland State Archives' Bulldog and the Staff Activities since last Hall of Records Commission meeting for additional details)

• September 13:  Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, Mimi Calver, Elaine Bachmann, and Sasha Lourie hosted a meeting of the Maryland Commission on Artistic Property
Elaine Bachmann reported that the Maryland Commission on Artistic Property conducted its semi-annual meeting in September.  The Commission is beginning to receive some conservation funds again for the collection, and important preservation activities are underway for several high profile paintings in the State House.  As there are some vacancies on the Commission, Dr. Papenfuse will submit nominations to the Appointment Secretary.
• September 18-19:  Dr. Papenfuse hosted Adam Jansen, Washington State Archives, who conducted a Peer Review of Mdlandrec.net
• October 26:  Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, and Kim Moreno met with Comptroller Schaefer and his staff concerning archiving official documents
• November 29:  Dr. Papenfuse and Diane Evartt met with Mary Kane, Secretary of State concerning preserving the current State Seal and implementing new casts of the Great Seal for use by the General Assembly
• November 29:  Dr. Papenfuse and Nancy Bramucci met with the Governor’s Senior Staff concerning archiving official documents and unveiling an automated inventory system for the transfer of permanent records to the Archives
Dr. Papenfuse related that, at the behest of the Governor’s Senior Staff, he and Nancy Bramucci spoke to the Governor's senior staff about how to archive work, bringing the permanent records into the Archives.  At that meeting, Dr. Papenfuse unveiled an automated inventory system which will be disseminated as the means of transferring all records throughout the state that are of permanent value.  Dr. Papenfuse asked that further discussion of the software be deferred until the next Hall of Records Commission meeting, at which time he will demonstrate the software.  In the meantime, Dr. Papenfuse will work very closely with the Department of General Services Records Management staff so that this software not only becomes part of the means of transferring records to the Archives, but the vehicle by which the Archives will do the appraisal and inventory that needs to be done.
 
Elaine Bachmann updated her report from the last Hall of Records Commission meeting concerning the portrait of Leonard Calvert for which the Friends of the Maryland State Archives had received funds to purchase.  The portrait was immediately sent for conservation which revealed that, rather than being a late 19th century portrait, it very well could be a 17th century portrait.  It has been confirmed that the frame is a 17th century frame. When conservation is complete, this will be a very significant addition to the state’s art collection as a gift from the Friends of the Maryland State Archives.

• Ellefson Endowment gift - proposed resolution
Dr. Papenfuse informed the Commission that several years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Ellefson donated $20,000 to the Archives of Maryland.  The Archives uses the interest from this donation to help support the Internship Program.  In November 2006, Dr. Papenfuse received another call from Mr. and Mrs. Ellefson, who wanted to donate another $20,000.  This donation was received on 5 December 2006.
• Jim Bready Collection of Whiskey Bottles
Chris Kintzel gave the Commission members a brief description of this collection.  Jim Bready, a former Baltimore Sun reporter who once wrote a wonderful article about the Archives’ efforts to do “Maryland, A New Guide to the Old Line State,” has a collecting sideline that was his passion – whiskey bottles.  Mr. Bready had previously written a scholarly article on the Whiskey Industry in Maryland, which was very important to the economy of this state, and Maryland Rye Whiskey still has a reputation of being some of the best Rye whiskey ever made.  Chris Kintzel described the collection as containing approximately 700 bottles dating from the 1870’s to the 1940’s, almost all unique.  He displayed a few of the bottles for the Commission, one of which was distributed by Fleischmann’s on North Avenue, which would have occurred after the fire in 1904 that destroyed much of the docks.  Mr. Kintzel described the process being used to accession the bottles. Based on a recommendation from the Corning Museum of Glass, special boxes were procured to assist in the transportation and storage of the bottles.
• Judge Friedman's Collection of Equal Rights Amendment Commission records and research on the implementation of the ERA in Maryland
Dr. Papenfuse mentioned the recent interest in the research work from the 1970s of the Governor’s Commission to Study the Implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment, especially as it related to same sex marriage.  Jen Hafner explained that the Commission, created in 1973, the year after the Maryland General Assembly passed the Equal Rights Amendment, was formed to examine Maryland’s laws and how they were affected by the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment.  She located a microfiche of the Commission’s research files at the State Law Library.  In addition, Jen Hafner contacted Judge Kathleen O'Ferrall Friedman, who was one of the Chairs for the Commission.  Judge Friedman discovered that she had a box of materials from her time with the Commission, such as memorandums and secondary sources, that she donated to the Archives.
• Washington Document-Progress Report
Dr. Papenfuse explained that the Washington Document is probably one of the most important documents in American History.  It is the bow to civil authority; it is the argument that the military should always be governed by civil authority and that what is supreme in America is the civil authority.  George Washington crafted his words very, very carefully, changing "final farewell" to just "farewell" in the phrase:  “Having now finished the work assigned me, I now retire from the great theater of action and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body and under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission and take my leave of all the employments of public life.”  With that change, George Washington was leaving himself open to being called back to service, which of course, he was.  The first appraisal of the document was $1.25 million.  The official appraisal is now $1.5 million, half a million dollars of which is being gifted by the owners as part of the matching funds for the grant.  The public funds that will go to the acquisition of this document are $750,000, $600,000 of which we are asking the Board of Public Works to transfer as Appropriated Funds, and the remaining $150,000 as Special Funds.  The rest of the monies have been raised by the Friends of the Maryland State Archives as matching funds.  The Board of Public Works' approval on 20 December will authorize the transfer of the money to the Friends.  The document’s final appraisal was by William Reese of New Haven, Connecticut, who said:  “In my opinion, the fair market value of the George Washington resignation manuscript is $1.5 million, and the fair market value of the James McHenry letter is $25,000.  Fair market value is defined in IRS publication … as the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell, and both having a reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.”  The document is currently at the Archives.  The actual transfer of title and the issuance of checks from the Friends is expected to take place on 22 January 2007.
• Special Collections
• Government Records

• Finding Aids, Reference Services, and Publications:
• http://mdsa.net
• http://aomol.net
• http://mdslavery.net
• http://lrac.us and http://review.mdlandrec.net
• http://www.mopw.net
• mdprobate.net
• Printed and Electronic Edition of the Maryland Manual
• Government Publications On Line
• Records Transfer and Storage Management
• http://mdhistory.net

• Archives is participating in State Electronic Documents Task Force
• Assisting with regulations overview and enhancing Records Appraisal Program
Dr. Papenfuse reintroduced Kim Moreno, head of Appraisal and Description.  Kim Moreno is in the process of greatly expanding the Archives' ability to appraise documents, and is developing a staff with the strength to give very good advice with regard to what ought to be kept permanently.
• Currently seeking grant opportunities to replace the US DOE grant funding that ends in January 2007
• Began partnership to assist the Women in Law research project, suggested by Judge Battaglia and Judge Eyler
Emily Squires and Jen Hafner are working with Judge Lynne A. Battaglia and Judge Deborah Sweet Eyler to create a book about women in the law.  A nonprofit organization will pay for the production of the book through the research and writing phases, much as was done for Governor Hughes’ book.
• Providing documentation on past inaugurations
Dr. Papenfuse reported that the Research Department had received  inquiries about previous inaugurations.  The results of the Research were posted on line and made available to the Inauguration Committee.

• The rising costs of scholarly research (travel) and imaging of documents
• Pressing need for research scholarships for serious scholars using the archival resources of the Maryland State Archives and related collections
• Summer 2006 Internship Report and Bulldog Article for August 2006
• Courses taught and lectures given by State Archivist (see prior resolution on 4/19/2000)
• Fall 2006:  Teaching Legal History Seminar: Maryland's Landmark Legal Precedents, University of Maryland School of Law
• Fall 2006:  Teaching What is History, Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus
• June 26-27:  Dr. Papenfuse attended the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council (NECCC) Symposium 2006 entitled “Digital Archiving: Preserving Institutional Memory and Culture” in Bellevue, Washington
• June 28:  Chris Haley and Justin Demski attended the Grand Opening of the Frederick Douglas-Isaac Myers Maritime Park
• July 7:  Dr. Papenfuse gave remarks at the 200th anniversary procession and ceremony recreating the laying of the cornerstone of the Basilica of the Assumption
• July 8-9:  Chris Haley gave remarks on African American History at the Howard County Parks and Recreation Civil War Weekend
• July 17:  Rob Schoeberlein presented a seminar to Archives staff on "Mental Illness in Maryland:  Public Perception, Discourse, and Treatment, from the Colonial Period to 1964"
• July 18:  Dr. Papenfuse and Nancy Bramucci participated in the Anne Arundel Teaching American History Summer Institute
• August 1-6:  Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, Kim Moreno, and Mike McCormick attended the 2006 Joint Meeting of the Council of State Archivists – Society of American Archivists – National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (CoSA-SAA-NAGARA)
• August 4:  Dr. Papenfuse spoke at the Calvert County Professional Development Program on “The Evolution of American Society”
• August 7:  Kim Moreno presented a Seminar to the Archives staff on “Margaret Tighlman Carroll and Women’s Control over Land and Capital in Early National Maryland”
• August 21:  Maya Davis attended the National Park Service Network to Freedom Gathering in Woodlawn
• August 27:  Chris Haley attended the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial at Anne Arundel Community College
• August 31:  Chris Haley made a presentation about his family and “Roots” at the 2006 Federation Genealogical Society and the New England Historic Genealogical Society
• September 8-9:  Maya Davis attended the African-American Genealogy Symposium at the National Archives
• September 9:  Mike McCormick presented a class on “Research at the Maryland State Archives” at the Baltimore Stake Family History & Genealogy Workshop
• September 14-15:  Dr. Papenfuse attended the American Association for State and Local History Annual Meeting in Phoenix on behalf of Chief Judge Bell
• September 20:  Dr. Papenfuse, Tim Baker, Christine Alvey, Jen Hafner, and Jenn Cruickshank attended the Reception to Celebrate the New Special Collections Room of the Maryland State Law Library
• September 20:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a reading of “While a Tree Grew … the Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak” with Mrs. Ehrlich at the Naval Academy Primary School
• September 23:  Chris Haley gave a presentation on “Tracing African American Genealogy at the Maryland State Archives” at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum
• September 28:  Chris Haley attended the ribbon cutting for the new Visitors Center at Historic London Town and Gardens
• September 29:  Chris Haley spoke at the Annual Commemoration Ceremony for Kunta Kinte’s Arrival
• October 18:  Dr. Papenfuse participated in the Homewood House Museum’s six-part series, titled “Repast as Ritual,” providing a seminar on the procurement and merchandising of Carroll’s goods
• October 23:  Dr. Papenfuse attended the Fall MLA Advisory Board meeting
• October 26-29:  Maya Davis attended the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Conference
• November 4:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing at the Maritime Museum for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak”
• November 11:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak” at the Fall Family Festival, Adkins Arboretum
• November 13:  Rob Schoeberlein was the Keynote Speaker at the City of Bowie Annual History Lecture Day, speaking on “Civil War Benevolent Activities of Maryland Women”
• November 13:  Leslie Frazer and Dottie Zimmerman participated in a book selling event for “My Unexpected Journey, The Autobiography of Harry R. Hughes” at the Sheraton Annapolis at a celebration of Governor Hughes’ 80th birthday
• December 7:  Dr. Papenfuse participated in the Holiday Book Signing at the Homewood House Museum
• December 8:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing at the Holy Grounds Youth Center for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak”
• December 13:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing at the Tawes Building for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak”

• January 12:  Elaine Bachmann will give an illustrated lecture on the state owned art collection for the Arts and Antiques Association of Annapolis, at the West Street Library
• January 25:  Rob Schoeberlein gave a lecture to staff and interns at the Spring Grove Hospital Center Grand Rounds on "Home and Institutional Care in Maryland"
• February 1:  Dr. Papenfuse will speak to the Mt Vernon Club on the procurement and merchandising of goods in Annapolis during the era of the American Revolution
• February 19:  The Archives is scheduled to participate in the dedication of the Washington Document in the State House
• February 21:  Sasha Lourie will speak to the Washington Decorative Arts Forum on furniture making for the State House and Annapolis
• March 30-31:  Dr. Papenfuse will participate in the spring meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association, at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, in the session "Understanding English Catholic Responses to the Penal Legislation: Was Sir George Calvert a Secret Catholic?"

April 11:  Chris Haley will be the keynote speaker for the Catholic Library Association's 86th Convention, speaking on the Legacy of Slavery project

• Deputy State Archivist's Report:
• State House interpretation and restoration projects
Mimi Calver reported on the State House Master Plan to improve the visitor’s experience at the State House.  After evaluating more than 15 proposals from exhibit design firms from around the country, C&G Partners of New York City was selected and have been working with the Artistic Properties staff in reimagining how people will experience the State House, its grounds, and the Old Treasury Building. The exhibit of George Washington’s Resignation Speech is a big part of the project, as well as the development of an orientation film and audio tours.  Dr. Papenfuse added that every effort has been made to include all stakeholders, including employees who work in the State House, constituents, and private tour operators.  Tim Baker remarked that all of this work is being done hand-in-hand with the Department of General Services, who have been very helpful all along the way.
• Status of master contracts for scanning related to the Maryland Electronic Archives project
Tim Baker stated that the Archives' biggest project is the development of Mdlandrec.net, and the posting online of all land records in Maryland; it constitutes the largest percentage in terms of budget.  He briefly noted that, when the Archives began the process of scanning and placing online the land record images a couple of years ago, it became apparent that, to put up 170 million images, it would require not just Archives' scanning expertise, but would probably consume all of the regionally available scanning operations.  The Archives needed to tap all of those resources to be able to accomplish the task in the time frame anticipated.  With the help of the Department of Budget and Management, the Archives approached the Board of Public Works and developed two sets of master contracts, one for paper scanning and one for microfilm scanning.  Task orders were issued based on an analysis of record groups for the different land record series.  One of these led to the Archives entering into a contract with a sheltered workshop, a division of IScan, under the banner of Humanim that is involved in a lot of different social service activities.  Tim Baker stated that IScan is the most reliable, productive contractor, and have always provided well-trained individuals who were managed by good team leaders.  He emphasized that the Archives wouldn't have been able to meet its deadlines if it weren’t for competent contractors such as IScan.  He further mentioned that in November 2006, the Board of Public Works approved a renewal of the Archives' contract with IScan.
• Status of mdlandrec.net http://lrac.us; Version 3
Tim Baker stated that the Archives met its goal to have all available land records indexes covering the period 1634 to present on line with at least 60 years of retrievable land record instruments for each jurisdiction, a total of 160 million images.  The Archives is now focusing on records from 1945 and prior, as well as on image improvement and image enhancement.  In addition, the mdlandrec installation team will complete the roll-out to the remaining jurisdictions by summer 2007.

Tim Baker related that Archives has been busy developing Version 3 of Mdlandrec.net.  Version 3 is being developed because the software tools that were used to develop previous versions have evolved, and a number of things are being improved:  security, usability, searchability, navigation, and appearance.  Dr. Papenfuse deferred a demonstration of Version 3 to the next Hall of Records Commission meeting.

Dr. Papenfuse related how recent interest in ground rents in Baltimore City sent a lot of people to Mdlandrec.net.  Mark Steiner said some very kind things about Mdlandrec.net on a recent radio program when he was talking about ground rents.  Mdlandrec.net is a vehicle by which you can begin to examine the question of who owns what and where, and you can do it from the comfort of your home.  Dr. Papenfuse mentioned that there are currently 25,363 subscribers, 24,984 of whom are active, and they’re all working on the system without bringing the system down.  The Mdlandrec.net system has had very little in the way of slowness issues, and downtime has been limited mostly to before 8:30 in the morning and after 5:00 in the evening.  Dr. Papenfuse expressed satisfaction with what the Archives staff has been able to do, and appreciation to the Judiciary for helping the Archives get to this point.
 

• Building Maintenance/New Facilities/Space Needs
• Slide show of storage solution for the Maryland State Archives, and a proposal for a future home of the Baltimore City Archives

Tim Baker reminded the Commission of the need for a new Archives building, as half of the Archive’s holdings are in substandard rental facilities that do not have adequate temperature and humidity control.  The Commission viewed images of a facility built by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Library System at the Applied Physics Lab in Howard County.  It is an encapsulated building in which temperature and humidity controls are maintained.  The stacks are 32 feet high and extremely stable.  The facility is not designed for customer service, but for electronic delivery of records.  The JHU facility gets approximately 150 requests for documents each day.  Staff retrieve the records, scan them, and forward them to the requestor electronically.  A recommendation to approve accelerated funding for a facility similar to this one will be incorporated in the Archives’ upcoming budget testimony.

Dr. Papenfuse described his visit to another facility that could be used for archival storage, particularly by the Baltimore City Archives.  He visited the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Baltimore, which is up for sale.  There’s a contract on this building from a developer in Arkansas who wants to tear it down and put up condominiums.  It’s on Charles Street, not far from Hopkins.  Dr. Papenfuse believes it to be designed in part by the architect who built the National Archives in Washington , DC.  Dr. Papenfuse noted that there are large spaces within the building that have not been finished.  On either side of the building, there are huge identical vacant spaces which could lend themselves to compact shelving for storage and reference.  There are also spaces that are suitable for scholarly reference, exhibits, and archival offices for administration and processing.  The center of the building is a 1200-seat auditorium, so maybe this building could have multiple purposes.  It could be an archival storage environment, or it could also be a fine arts performance area.

• Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity (UMBC site proposal)

Tim Baker noted that, while the Archives has had a Disaster Recovery plan for some time, work is in progress to replicate data and load-balance at a separate site.  Archives’ IT staff worked with the Department of Budget and Management and evaluated options at the Department of Transportation, University of Maryland College Park and University of Maryland Baltimore City (UMBC).  Based on a number of factors, the site at UMBC was chosen, and an agreement in principle is in place.  Mr. Baker stated that they hope to have an MOU signed and in place by January for a five year time period, during which UMBC will house the Archives’ servers and storage array.
• Budget Initiatives:
• State House Master Plan implementation
Tim Baker related that the Department of Budget and Management counseled that the Archives should finish the master planning process and then return with more concrete numbers.  The budget request was put on hold.
• Old House of Delegates Plan implementation
Tim Baker related that this project is underway.
• National Criminal Information Background Check System (NICs)
Tim Baker related that NICS is a federal mandate that is not funded.  The Department of Public Safety was receiving very substantial grants from the federal government, but that grant was cut.  The Archives is asking for an additional $30,000 to continue to perform the background checks.  The Archives is the place of last resort if an arrest shows up with no disposition noted in the National database.  Once requested, the Archives has 72 hours to find the record and provide the disposition of the case.  The Department of Budget and Management staff has given a favorable recommendation on this item.
• Carroll Papers project
Tim Baker mentioned that the Department of Budget and Management recommended at the staff level that this is not to be funded.  The Archives then requested that this project be elevated to the Secretary for discussion with the Governor's Office.  This is still pending.
• Fee structure (overhead charges) for all Archives of Maryland Publications  (following a standard University-based formula including 7% allocated to the Archives Endowment Fund as an investment for education and outreach, research, and writing about the Archives and the history of Maryland)
Tim Baker described to the Commission the Archives' fairly long-standing policy of attaching a seven percent fee to services and to publications in the Archives of Maryland Online series.  That money is dedicated and flows directly to the Archives Endowment Fund.  The endowment is now about $3 million.
• Future potential gifts to the Archives Endowment Fund
Tim Baker related that he was contacted by the Treasurer of the Maryland Land Title Association.  Because they are so pleased with the mdlandrec.net initiative, their Board of Directors wants to donate money to a charity chosen by the Maryland State Archives.  The Archives will recommend that they fund research related to the Legacy of Slavery project.

Dr. Ridgway offered a motion of approval for the concept of the Educational and Entrepreneurial Endowments, public and private, seconded by Dr. Phillips and unanimously approved, the Chairman concurring.

Next meeting

The next Hall of Records Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 19, 2007.

Adjournment

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 1:48 p.m.

                                    ________________________________________
                                            The Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chairman
 
 
 

                                    ________________________________________
                                            Edward C. Papenfuse, Jr., Secretary
 
 

Email: edp@mdarchives.state.md.us

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