In an effort to highlight the hard work and dedication of its staff, Reference Services has initiated a Productivity Awards program. The reference management team reviews the daily productivity reports filed by staff over approximately a month long period. The reports cover all areas of work performed by reference personnel such as vital records, file retrieval, research letters, email responses, phone calls, reference desk assignments, coding, keyboarding, and other miscellaneous duties required in the course of a day. Attendance is also given due consideration as an important component of a high work ethic. 

R.J. Rockefeller, Reference Services Director, has noticed a uniformly increasing scale of work units being produced since the daily reports have been instituted. According to Rocky, "Self-awareness alone helps us increase our productivity and reduce our response time." 

We are proud of the work of all our employees and especially of the first two award recipients: Lee Evans in April and Tony Murphy in May. 

To help make things run more smoothly in the Search Room, a new microfilm policy went into effect on June 7. With the approval of the Reference and Research Advisory Committee, Reference Services has instituted a Yellow Block system. Patrons will be issued one wooden yellow block along with their locker key, desk tag, and debit card, all with the same number. When the patron removes a reel of microfilm from a drawer, he or she will fill the space with the yellow block. When finished with the reel (including reader printer copies, if necessary), the patron will return the film to the space occupied by the appropriately numbered yellow block. Patrons will be limited to the use of one reel of film at a time. Signs are posted in the film room notifying patrons of this new policy. 

It is hoped that this new system will cut down on the considerable time and effort staff have spent in the past reshelving microfilm and leave them more time to answer patrons' questions, provide reproductions, and retrieve documents. 

The next policy change for Archives' patrons involves price increases in vital records and general research and copies. These have also been approved by the Reference and Research Advisory Committee. The reasons for the increases are rising costs. The reference staff payroll has increased by 7 percent per year since the last fee increase three years ago, and, as the Archives continues to be only 60 to 70 percent funded by general funds, the need to raise special funds has grown. 

The new fees will be as follows: Vital records requests will increase from $8 to $10 and will continue to cover research and a copy, if a record is found. Other research requests will increase from $20 to $25 per hour. Research requests will no longer include a copy of the document, nor will the copy charge of $10 per document be applied. Reproduction rates will be set at $2.00 per page, with no additional charge for certification. This new fee structure is slated to go into effect September 1, 2001. 

A routine inquiry about a 1904 case file in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court (Equity Papers) in series T71 led to the discovery of a hitherto unknown 18th century record. The original minute book of the Anne Arundel Court for the March Term of 1769 was tied inside a case file. A careful reading of the documents in the file determined that the court minutes bore no relationship to that particular equity case. 

A check of  Anne Arundel Court (Minutes) in series C116 and on film in CM93 revealed that no version of the minutes of March 1769 was extant, thus making this small booklet of eighteen pages a significant find. The record documents administrative matters handled by the court justices and briefly outlines criminal and civil matters brought before them. The entries are arranged chronologically according to the dates the court was in session. The court sat between Tuesday, March 14 and Saturday, March 18. Each daily record began with a list of the court officials present - justices, sheriff, and clerk. Also recorded were the names of the grand and petit jurors and of people summoned to appear in court. Presentments from the grand jury included the names of the accused and the criminal charges against them. The largest number of offenses pertained to assault and bastardy. 

During the colonial period the county courts in Maryland handled affairs concerning orphans. The justices appointed guardians, approved guardians selected by orphans age fourteen and older, and handled apprenticeships. On March 15 Nathan Moses chose John Gray as his guardian. On the 16th the court bound Jacob Wright, age 14, with his mother's consent, to Mr. Hesselius to learn house painting along with the usual reading, writing, and arithmetic. Thomas Hammond, age 15, was apprenticed to William Currie to learn plastering and cabinet making. 
 

Court minutes for Anne Arundel exist only for scattered dates during the colonial period, specifically 1725, 1732-1733, 1748, 1752, 1754-1755, 1762, 1766-1767, and 1774-1775. Now part of 1769 can be added to the list. 

The justices functioned as the governing body of the county government prior to the establishment of the levy court system in Maryland in 1794. Notations about these activities pertaining to public facilities and welfare are scattered throughout county court minutes. On March 15 Henry Hall was paid for the repair of the old Queen Anne bridge. The next day the justices ordered the clerk to repair