Dr. Terry's Microsoft Powerpoint presentation with audio narration will be available on the Archives' website. 

Despite the snowfall of the preceding day, the second meeting of the advisory panel for the Archives of Maryland Online (AOMOL) was held at the State Archives on December 6, 2002. Seven members of the panel, including three new members - former deputy state archivist Chris Allan and professors Ira Berlin of the University of Maryland and Philip Morgan of Johns Hopkins, and seven staff members took part in the discussion. 

The first order of business recognized contributions to the site by two panel members: Agnes Callum, whose Slave Statistics of St. Mary's County, Maryland appears online as volume 369, and Dan Friedman, an authority on the Declaration of Rights who has contributed valuable material relating to the Constitutional Convention of 1867. Dr. Papenfuse reminded panel members that the Archives continues to welcome contributions of material related to the goal of placing online the constitutional, legal, legislative, and administrative basis of Maryland government.

Greg Lepore presented a statistical overview of the site, which comprises nearly 400,000 pages and receives approximately 6,000,000 hits per year, originating from all fifty states and many foreign countries and from a wide variety of site types
(e.g. .com, .org, .mil, etc.). Current funding covers core staff salaries (primarily two full-time 
employees and one part-time transcriber), with a small amount for servers and equipment. New images are being added at a rate of about 50,000-60,000 per year, but material outside of the central core of Session laws and Senate and House proceedings can only be funded through outside grants for special projects. The major focus of such work for the next year will continue to be related to the work of the Commission to Coordinate the 

On December 4, 1828, several members of the Sephus family, from 33 year old Levy Sephus to 1 year old Maria Sephus were shipped by Austin Woolfolk on the Henry Clay, bound for New Orleans. These are just a few of the over 12,000 slaves who were shipped from Baltimore to New Orleans. The index to outward bound slave manifests gives the name and age of the slave, name of the owner or shipper, name of the vessel, and date and place of departure. 

Clayton's book is more than one of lists. The chapter on slave auctions discusses the dehumanizing and degrading ways that slaves were examined verbally and physically to determine their health and tractability. For instance, if a slave had the marks of beatings, it was felt that person had probably been a troublemaker. The chapter on Austin Woolfolk, one of the major slave dealers of Baltimore, describes the front view of the attractive house in which he resided and the terrible conditions of the prison found in the back. In the chapter on another major 

Those who still have a romantic view of the "old South" will find this book provides a (possibly unwelcome) dose of reality. For those who want to know what life was really like in ante-bellum Baltimore and for those students of African-American history, this book will be a welcome addition to their bookshelves. 

Ralph Clayton, a library research assistant and a freelance writer, is the author of many books on African Americans in Maryland. He has produced another excellent, thought provoking volume. 

Copies may be ordered from Heritage Books, Inc., 1540-E Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie, MD 20716.

On December 17, the Archives held a holiday luncheon for staff and volunteers. One of the highlights of this gathering was the appreciation shown to some very stalwart warriors for the Archives, the volunteers. Twenty of them joined the staff to enjoy the variety of salads, treats, and beverages supplied by Fresh Fields of Annapolis.

State Archivist, Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Director of Reference Services, Dr. R. J. Rockefeller; and Volunteer Coordinator, Chris Haley, spoke sincerely of the incomparable contributions these individuals have made to the Archives' mission and introduced each of those in attendance. Each volunteer was presented with a Maryland Bicentennial memorial coin encased in a plastic case and wrapped in golden twine. 

The Archives takes this opportunity to again applaud its volunteer corps and wish them a wonderful New Year.