Hall of Records Commission Minutes of Meeting  at the Maryland State Archives Electronic Classroom 12:00 pm, November 5, 2007

Call to Order by the Chairman

The fall meeting of the Hall of Records Commission began at 12:42 pm, November 5, 2007, at the Maryland State Archives, with Chief Judge Robert M. Bell presiding.

Chief Judge Bell welcomed the following individuals to their first Hall of Records Commission Meeting:

Secretary Alvin Collins, Department of General Services

Ms. Maggie Melson, Special Assistant to the President, representing Mr. Christopher B. Nelson, President, St. John's College

Special Announcements/Opening Remarks

In trying to hold meetings on days of significance to Maryland history, Dr. Papenfuse reminded the Commission and meeting attendees of the importance of November 5.  According to some researchers, on November 5, 1781, John Hanson became the third President of the United States in Congress Assembled.  There are some who argue he was the first because he was the first after the Battle of Yorktown which in fact ended the Revolution.  But, in truth, he was the third.  More importantly, his election to the highest office under the Articles of Confederation at a point at which the United States had defeated the British at Yorktown and had begun to negotiate for its place as a nation among nations, symbolizes the strong stand that Maryland took with regard to the future admission of new States to the Union.  It set the groundwork for the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, all of which set the precedent for how new States were brought in to the nation.  Even though the controversy still rages as to what status should be attributed to John Hanson in the pantheon of the Presidency, the Commission paused to pay tribute to John Hanson and the role Maryland played in forging the future of the Union.  See John Hanson and Accident, Maryland.

Reports and Minutes of Previous Meetings

• April 19, 2007

Dr. Phillips 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

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

Records Retention and Disposal

• Retention Schedules
• Disposals

Mr. Freedlander offered a motion of approval of Records Retention and Disposal Schedules as presented, seconded by Dr. Ridgway 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)

• Dr. Papenfuse called the Commission’s attention to the article on electronic records and particularly to the picture of Governor O’Malley texting on his Black Berry as symbolic of the electronic information that sets policy without leaving a record.  It brings up the question of how to deal with the archiving of electronic records, which is being addressed by the new Rules and Regulations propagated by the Archives.
• Dr. Papenfuse described to the Commission research assistance provided by the Archives to the National Association of Treasurers.  At the request of the Maryland Treasurer’s Office, the Archives provided documentary evidence supporting the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s and the National Association of State Treasurer’s position in a Supreme Court case questioning the authority of States to issue tax-exempt bonds to residents.  Dr. Papenfuse read to the Commission from an email to the Treasurer’s Office, in which the lawyer praised the Archives’ work that proved conclusively that Maryland issued tax-exempt bonds and that Elizabeth Patterson owned tax-exempt bonds at the time of the intangible property tax assessment that gave rise to the Bonaparte case, a case decided in 1882 by the Supreme Court in favor of the States.
• Dr. Papenfuse mentioned to the Commission that occasionally public records are sold on eBay, and that he checks periodically to see if any Maryland records come up for sale.  Recently, Dr. Papenfuse identified three items for sale that appeared to have come from the Archives’ own records, a Chancery Case.  Dr. Papenfuse purchased the records with his own money, communicated with the seller who agreed to bring additional similar records to Dr. Papenfuse’s residence for review.  Dr. Papenfuse convinced the seller that he should donate the records back to the State, which he did; these were two boxes of equity cases from Allegany County and Baltimore City.  Dr. Papenfuse highlighted two cases from the boxes, and promised to provide a final analysis at a later date.
• Dr. Papenfuse and his students are experimenting with biographical research on Wikipedia.  Dr. Papenfuse began by posting an article on Wikipedia on Cipriano Ferrandini, the man who possibly planned the first assassination attempt against Abraham Lincoln in February 1861.  His students are researching and posting additional information for this article; one of his students is particularly interested in one of the women detectives who worked for Allan Pinkerton who actually supplied some of the information about the plot.
• Dr. Papenfuse asked Vicki Lee to describe the American Institute for Conservation’s Collections Emergency Response Training (AIC-CERT) Program, which was funded by an IMLS grant.  Vicki explained that the group is a task force of conservators, as well as registrars, curators, archivists, and librarians, who will deploy to the site of a disaster to help conserve and protect artistic collections.  It is a first responder’s group for cultural property.  Once the firemen, police, FEMA have cleared the areas, the AIC-CERT team members go into buildings, courthouses, museums, etc, and help bring the materials out for conservation, and they make recommendations on what policies to follow.  Vicki was selected as one of the 60 founding members of the Task Force; more members are being trained in groups of twenty.

• 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

• Summer 2007 Summer Internship Program

• Courses taught and lectures given by State Archivist (see prior resolution on 4/19/2000)
• Fall 2007:  Teaching Legal History Seminar: Navigability in the Maryland and Federal Courts, University of Maryland School of Law
• Fall 2007:  Teaching Introduction to Graduate Research Methods in History, Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus
• April 17 - 20:  Vicki Lee and Jenn Cruickshank attended the Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works
• April 20:  Kim Moreno attended DigCCurr 2007: An International Symposium in Digital Curation at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• April 20:  Chris Haley met with Lori Dodson concerning the District of Columbia and Prince George's County African American Families in relation to the Black Entrepreneurial project
• April 23:  Ed Papenfuse and Tim Baker attended the Information Technology Advisory Council meeting, at which Ed Papenfuse spoke on the topic of "Electronic Storage of Information - Data Retention"
• April 24:  Mimi Calver and Elaine Bachmann provided a tour of Government House and the State House to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Edwards
• April 25:  Rob Schoeberlein met with Paul Lurz and Nia Henderson, Baltimore Sun, concerning a Crownsville Hospital documentary
• April 25:  Ed Papenfuse attended an MLA Advisory Board Meeting for Johns Hopkins University
• April 25:  John Gartrell attended the Maryland Humanities Council meeting, "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Remembrance and Reconciliation," at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore
• April 28:  Kim Moreno served as a Judge for Maryland History Day at the University of Maryland Baltimore County
• April 30 - May 1:  Tim Baker, Wei Yang, and Kim Moreno attended the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration 21st Annual Preservation Conference
• May 3 - 4:  Mike McCormick attended the Midwest Archives Conference in Columbus, Ohio
• May 4:  Ed Papenfuse and Chris Haley participated in the Spring Workshop sponsored by the Baltimore City Historical Society
• May 7:  Chris Haley met with Karen McLaughlin, Capital Newspaper, and Steve Garrett
• May 8:  Ed Papenfuse hosted a tour of the State House and Archives for students and teachers from Boys' Latin School (packet)
• May 9:  Chris Haley was interviewed by a Delaware Comcast affiliate regarding the Alex Haley monument and tourism spots in Maryland
• May 14:  Vicki Lee, Jenn Cruickshank, and Emily Squires met with Eila Bennett and members of the Questers, who wanted a photograph with their restored book
• May 16:  Vicki Lee attended a Guild of Book Workers lecture and business meeting
• May 18:  Kevin Swanson and Carrie Gross attended the quarterly outreach meeting for court patrons of the Prince George's County Circuit Court
• May 19-20:  Ed Papenfuse participated in a Community Conversation with the families of Washington College Graduates and the Washington College Commencement Ceremonies
• May 22:  Chris Haley interviewed Lt. Governor Brown for Annapolis Magazine, What's Up and Undiscovered Radio
• May 26:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing at the Chestertown Tea Party for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak”
• May 30:  Chris Haley interviewed Karin Hayes and Victoria Bruce regarding the Pip and Zastrow documentary for Undiscovered Radio
• May 31:  Ed Papenfuse, Emily Squires, and Chris Haley met with Michelle Danoff and Dr. Ira Berlin to review the brochure "A Guide to the History of Slavery in Maryland."  Dr. Papenfuse displayed a copy of the brochure, emphasizing that the work was not publicly available as of the date of the Commission meeting.  The Archives Underground Railroad staff worked with Dr. Ira Berlin, University of Maryland, to develop the brochure for teachers and students on the history of slavery in Maryland.  The brochure highlights a daguerreotype of Frederick Douglass, which is his earliest photograph.  Another image in the brochure is a daguerreotype of Nancy Campbell in the Battle of Antietam.  Dr. Papenfuse informed the Commission that he hopes to announce the publication of the brochure with the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor in the near future.  He further hopes the Department of Education will be interested in buying a large supply of the brochures to distribute at public schools.
• June 1:  Elaine Bachmann attended the "Chic It Up" conference, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware, speaking on "From Winterthur to the White House: H.F. du Pont's role in creating the Kennedy Interiors"
• June 9:  Ed Papenfuse attended the Baltimore City Historical Society's Annual Meeting (presentation)
• June 11:  Tim Baker gave a presentation at the Maryland Digital Government Summit in Electronic Records Management and Retention
• June 12:  Ed Papenfuse attended the "Maryland Voices of the Civil War" reception and lecture
• June 14:  Chris Haley was interviewed by Sandy Mallory of WEAA 88.9 FM regarding Maryland's emancipation
• June 16:  John Gartrell and Ryan Cox attended the African-American Genealogy and Historical Society-Prince George's County Maryland Chapter, Juneteenth Celebration and spoke on "African American Genealogy at the Maryland State Archives"
• June 18:  Ed Papenfuse and Nancy Bramucci participated in a Baltimore City National Endowment for the Humanities grant seminar (World Turned Upside Down) (Hesitant Revolutionaries)
• July 12:  Ed Papenfuse gave a talk to 30 middle and high school teachers from Washington County on "Putting Maryland in perspective after the Constitution," followed by a demonstration of the Teaching American History web site (Writing It All Down) (Hesitant Revolutionaries)
• July 13:  Nancy Bramucci participated in the Anne Arundel County Teaching American History Seminar with middle school teachers
• July 13:  Chris Haley was interviewed by Theresa Winslow, The Capital regarding the Legacy of Slavery Department, Mr. Haley's involvement in the play Permanent Collection, and Roots
• July 17:  Ed Papenfuse participated in the Anne Arundel County Teaching American History Seminar with elementary and high school teachers  (Writing It All Down) (Segregation & Integration)
• July 19-20:  Ed Papenfuse and Kim Moreno attended the Council of State Archivists and National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri
• July 27:  Chris Haley attended the Roots Camp Graduation with Gerry Dragan at Sojourner Douglass College Edgewater Campus
• August 9:  Ed Papenfuse and Chris Kintzel visited Senator Mathias at his West Virginia Farm
• August 11:  Ed Papenfuse gave an historical introduction on the State of Maryland to members of the Sons of the American Revolution at the Miller Office Building (Washington brochure)
• August 22:  Mike McCormick and Vicki Lee provided orientations on the Search Room and Conservation Lab to a group of genealogists from England, Australia and New Zealand
• August 26:  Elaine Bachmann participated in a book signing at the North Beach Bay Festival for “While a Tree Grew … The Story of Maryland’s Wye Oak”
• September 5:  Chris Haley met with Alderman Sam Shropshire regarding the Annapolis Apology
• September 6-7:  Ed Papenfuse represented Chief Judge Bell at the State and Federal Court Historical Societies' meeting held in conjunction with the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia
• September 10-14:  Ryan Cox attended the Friends of the Network to Freedom Association Inaugural Conference, "Looking Back, Moving Forward," at Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky
• September 12:  Ed Papenfuse gave a presentation on George Washington to Federal Clerks and Chief Deputies of the Fourth, Fifth, and DC Circuits, followed by a tour of the State House by Mimi Calver and Elaine Bachmann
• September 12:  Chris Haley gave remarks at the 2000 Second Millennium Celebration in Washington, DC
• September 16:  Nancy Bramucci gave a presentation at the Baltimore County Historical Society on "What's new online at the Maryland State Archives?"
• September 24:  Ed Papenfuse participated in an interview segment of the Maryland Public Television show Direct Connection with Secretary Adkins and host Jeff Salkin.  Dr. Papenfuse reminded the Commission that, at the Spring 2007 Hall of Records Commission meeting, Howard Freedlander had donated to the Archives a collection of material relating to George Cleighton and his time in World War II.  Dr. Papenfuse mentioned these materials during his interview on Direct Connection, which was aired before one of the segments of Ken Burns’ War.  Dr. Papenfuse told the Commission that more information on the George Creighton Collection would be offered at a future meeting.
• September 28:  Rob Schoeberlein attended a meeting of the Maryland History and Culture Collaborative
• September 28:  Elaine Bachmann led a tour of Government House and the State House for students from the Corcoran College of Art and Design, History of Decorative Arts Class
• September 28:  Ed Papenfuse gave remarks in honor of Governor Harry Hughes at the 2007 Profile in Stewardship Award Dinner
• September 29:  Chris Haley gave remarks at the Annual Kunta Kinte Commemoration
• October 3-7:  John Gartrell participated in the Association for the Study of African American Life and History Conference and gave a presentation regarding Beneath the Underground, Flight to Freedom and Communities in Antebellum, Maryland
• October 5-7:  Chris Haley gave a talk and class on black history and genealogy at the Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County in Charlotte, North Carolina
• October 9:  Dottie Zimmerman and Chris Stewart participated in a book selling event for My Unexpected Journey, The Autobiography of Harry R. Hughes at the Maryland League of Conservation Voter's annual awards dinner
• October 11:  Ed Papenfuse and Vicki Lee greeted members of the Guild of Book Workers, and provided a tour of the Conservation Lab
• The Potomac Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers held their monthly meeting at the Archives and provided a demonstration on the uses of the vacuum suction table.  Renate Mesmer, President of the Potomac Chapter and assistant Head of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library, demonstrated document washing and pulp fills.  Dr. Papenfuse related that this is a group of conservators from the Baltimore/Washington DC area who work together to solve problems.  In addition, if one agency no longer needs a piece of equipment, it is offered to other members of the group.  The Archives acquired one such piece of equipment, a vacuum suction table, which is used to fill in paper where holes are and bring the papers back to a position of stability.
• October 11:  Nancy Bramucci gave a talk at the Laurel Historical Society on Online sources for Maryland History at the Maryland State Archives
• October 17:  Ed Papenfuse met with William Noel at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, regarding a map exhibit
• October 26:  Elaine Bachmann provided a tour of the State House for Loyola University Professor Dr. Paul Lukacs and his students
• October 29:  Nancy Bramucci spoke with preservice teachers at the University of Maryland College Park regarding teaching with primary source materials
• November 2:  Ed Papenfuse participated in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a lecture on "Fugitive Public Records and the Collector:  Thief, Savior, or Somewhere in between?"
• Dr. Papenfuse informed the Commission that he would bring to the next Commission meeting additional information pertaining to Thomas Scharf, Peter Force, and the problem of public records in eBay.

• December 2:  Ed Papenfuse will speak to members of the Sons of the Revolution, State of Maryland, at a tribute to President and Commander George Washington
• December 10:  Ed Papenfuse, Mimi Calver, Elaine Bachmann, and Chris Kintzel will attend a Government House Foundation VIP Dinner Reception
• February 15:  Chris Haley will speak for Watermark Tours on the Legacy of Slavery Department and how its programs relate to tourism in Maryland
• February 22-24:  John Gartrell will participate in the Seventh Annual Underground Railroad Conference in Albany, New York and speak on How It Worked: Two Centuries of Resistance, Escape, and the Underground Railroad
• March 11:  Ed Papenfuse will participate in the Maryland History Lecture Series 2007-2008 at St. John's College
• May 1:  Ed Papenfuse will speak at the Central Intelligence Agency Information Management Institute

• Deputy State Archivist's Report:
• State House projects overview.  Tim Baker described to the Commission the roles that the Archives plays in regard to the State House.  The Archives is the coordinator for activities that occur in the State House, as well as custodian of the State's artistic properties collections.  In addition, the State Archivist is the Secretary for the State House Trust, which oversees all projects suggested for improving anything within State Circle.  The Archives has been working closely with the Department of General Services and the Maryland Historical Trust on the list of pending projects for the State House, and is involved in the development and execution of the Exhibits Master Plan to interpret the State House.
• Mdlandrec.net
• Status.  Tim Baker reminded the Commission that Mdlandrec.net is the Archives’ biggest project.  There are currently 54,657 subscribers, with an average pool of 600 users at any one time, and between 6,000 and 10,000 users per day.  The statistics are significant because they reflect the number of users accessing Mdlandrec.net from outside the courthouses.  Dr. Papenfuse took this opportunity to praise the IT staff because there has been no downtime for Mdlandrec.net.
• Version 3.  Tim Baker stated that the IT staff is diligently working in reprogramming Version 3 of Mdlandrec.net, which will provide enhanced search functionality, greater security of the site, and enhanced navigation and usability.
• Disaster Recovery.  Tim Baker described to the Commission an agreement that the Archives has entered into with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) concerning disaster recovery, business continuity.  Data will be replicated to UMBC as a means of disaster recovery and as a load balancing operation.  Because of the amount of data involved, it is more effective to replicate the data off-site and then back-up the data from there.
• Facilities
• Capital Budget requirement for new Archival facility.  Tim Baker stated that the Archives is on the capital budget for 2012, but they are trying to accelerate getting a building built to replace the five rented substandard facilities currently in use to house archival materials.
• Maintenance
• Legislative Audit
• Status report.  Tim Baker related that the Audit Report was not final as of the date of this Commission meeting and is still considered somewhat privileged; however, there will be no findings with regard to procurement issues.
• Budget Highlights
• Fiscal Year 2008.  The Archives was asked to revert another $100,000, representing 10.52 percent of our remaining General Fund budget. 
• Fiscal Year 2009.  The Archives was asked to revert another $82,000, representing 2.85 percent.
• Archives Endowment

• Budget and Legislative Initiatives:
• Restoration of funds to pay for rent of warehouse facilities.  This would cover the existing rent scenarios for our existing warehouse facilities, as well as funds to rent another warehouse, as the last warehouse facility is estimated to be full in the year 2009.
• Printing of the Maryland Manual
• State House Exhibits and an Architect of the Capitol.  This is the first installment on a 2-3 year plan to implement the State House Exhibits Master Plan.  A very small part of this budget asks for an Architect of the Capital, a position that will help coordinate and manage activities within the State House.
• Legislation to make more explicit the fee making powers of the State Archivist.  Tim Baker reminded the Commission that the Archives has been charging fees for services for quite some time, and that 80 percent of the Archives budget comes from the Special Fund, for services and publications.  In addition, for the past couple of years, the Archives has applied a seven percent surcharge as an Educational and Entrepreneurial Reserve.  The Archives’ Assistant Attorney General has argued that the Archives has fee-setting authority under several provisions of the law, but she also recommended submission of a Bill that more explicitly recognizes these fee-setting authorities generally and more specifically as it relates to the Educational and Entrepreneurial Fund.
• Legislation to improve the management and disposition of public records in Maryland.  Tim Baker explained to the Commission that the Archives is working together with the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of General Services to make more explicit and accessible some general guidelines for records management in general, and management and transfer of permanent electronic records to the Archives in particular.  The information is available, but there is no one set portal where records managers, CIOs, and office management can go to look at schedules, scheduling processes, and procedures.  This is an interagency effort that may result in legislation.  Dr. Papenfuse added that the Office of the Attorney General is most concerned with the problem of electronic records because of discovery, as they have to advise agencies on what constitutes discovery and what they have to have available for discovery.  There is currently no firm or acceptable policy with regard to dealing with electronic records.

New Business

Next Meeting

The next Hall of Records Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 28, 2008.

Adjournment

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 1:35 pm.

                                    ________________________________________
                                            The Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chairman
 
 
 

                                    ________________________________________
                                            Edward C. Papenfuse, Jr., Secretary
 
 

Email: edp@mdarchives.state.md.us

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