MARAC SPRING MEETING
by Kevin Swanson and Pat Melville
The Spring 1996 meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) was held in College Park, Maryland from May 2 through May 4. The theme was "Archives for the Next Century" and the program contained a heavy emphasis on dealing with electronic records, using the Internet, attracting new patrons, utilizing volunteers and friends groups, and exploring alternatives to public funding. As always, it was an opportunity to exchange information with colleagues, gain new perspectives on the challenges confronting our profession, and of course, catch up on the doings of old friends and acquaintances.
Given the broad range of issues to be addressed, the program was a little light. This was done, in part, as a deliberate effort to reduce the number of concurrent sessions in each time slot from five to four. While reducing the number of sessions one would miss, it also decreased the number of sessions one might attend.
One session concerned the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), an innovative and publicly funded effort to create a virtual library for the citizens of the Commonwealth. The speakers were Betsy P. Pittman, a former intern at the Maryland State Archives, now at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Gail McMillan from Virginia Polytechnic Institution and State University. VIVA is a consortium of academic libraries, and the speakers are members of its Special Collections Committee which is working on a program to provide access to the archives and special collections in Virginia repositories. Current efforts are being directed toward access to finding aids through the VIVA home page. Ultimately the committee is striving to make available electronic images of original source materials. The speakers were compelled to use transparencies to show VIVA's web site because the planned on-line demonstration failed to function in the hotel.
A related session involved digital images and electronic texts developed through scanners and digital cameras. The speakers were Ms. McMillan and Ed Berkeley and David Gants from the University of Virginia. Once again the presentations were hampered by the failure of on-line demonstrations. As a result it was sometimes difficult to follow the discussion of the pros and cons of using scanners and video cameras. Interestingly one speaker felt it was less expensive to use keyboarders to create coded text, as opposed to scanners. The use of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) instead of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) was stressed because of its supposedly more stable standards. That speaker thought .the HTML standard would change substantially in the next few years.
Another session dealt with bringing children and youth into the Archives through the creative use of primary materials as teaching aids. Speakers included Meg Chorlian from Cobblestone Publishing, Cathy Gorn representing National History Day, and Judy Van Dyke from the Maryland Historical Society. The programs they described were very impressive and no doubt effective. They were also fairly labor intensive and time-consuming. The long-term benefits of introducing the next generation of potential users to the Archives are beyond dispute; but the present resources to do so may be hard to come by.
An afternoon session concerned the establishment, care, and feeding of an Archives friends group. Speakers included Diane Windham Shaw from Lafayette College, Timothy Murray from the University of Delaware, and Annie Elliott from the Rosenbach Museum and Library. The speakers led a fascinating and spirited discussion of the pluses and minuses of having a friends group. All were surprisingly ambivalent about their experiences, finding it difficult to specify the benefits while being acutely aware of the costs involved in managing a successful friends organization.
John Carlin, Archivist of the United States, delivered the plenary address. He emphasized the important role of state archives in preserving the cultural heritage of the United States and called for partnerships in pursuit of common goals.
Every MARAC meeting tries to obtain entertaining luncheon speakers, and this year was no exception. Our own Ed Papenfuse gave a spirited introduction to the Honorable Louis L. Goldstein, Maryland State Comptroller. Mr. Goldstein is renowned for his extensive knowledge of Maryland history and his gifts as an entertaining and informative speaker. He talked about the importance of archives and crucial role of computer technology in creating and preserving information.
LOIS CARR AWARDED EISENBERG PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE HUMANITIES
On May 17, Dr. Lois Green Carr and Dr. George B. Udvarhelyi became the first recipients of the Eisenberg Prize for Excellence in the Humanities. The prizes were given at a reception in the Governor's Reception Room of the State House.
The Eisenberg Prize, established by Sandy and Gersen Eisenberg, is a $3,000 cash prize given to "Marylanders who, throughout their lifetime, have made significant contributions to public understanding and appreciation of one or more humanities disciplines." Recipients are selected by the Maryland Humanities Council.
After opening remarks by Dr. George Callcott, Chairperson of the Maryland Humanities Council, and Robert Kershaw, Chairperson for the Eisenberg Prize, the awards were presented by Stanley Arthur, Assistant Secretary of State, on behalf of Governor Parris Glendening.
Lois is well-known for her pioneering work in documenting the social and economic history of the colonial Chesapeake. Dr. Udvarhelyi, a professor emeritus of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, was the driving force behind the creation of the Office of Cultural Affairs at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions which provides lectures on the arts, ethics, literature, and music.
Congratulations to Lois on this well-earned achievement.
THE "8870 FORMULA"
Recently a patron passed on to us the "8870 formula" which presents a method for finding a date of birth from a date of death. First, the age at death is subtracted from the date of death. Then, from that result is subtracted 8870. For example, the death date is May 6, 1889 and the age at death is 71 years, 7 months, and 9 days.
1889 05 06
(71 07 09)
___________
1817 97 97
(88 70)
___________
1817 09 27
The date of birth is September 27, 1817.
The source for this formula is Genealogical Helper vol. 30 no. 2, March 1976, pp. 80-81.
STATE AND LOCAL RECORDS REFERENCE REPORT
The April total of 1003 reference requests represents a 6.7% increase over the April 1995 total of 940. Not surprisingly, this increase in requests was accompanied by a 6.8% increase in the number of records circulated, from 1355 last year to 1447 in 1996. There were 42 fewer vital records requests in April 1996 (373) than in 1995 (415). Circulation of district court records increased by 14.9%, 277 compared to 241. Requests for records of the circuit courts and other agencies increased by 14%, 797 compared to 699.
Overall, the judiciary continues as the largest single user of SLR reference services. The number of reference requests received from the courts increased by 12.3% (283 compared to 252), while the number of records requested increased by 22.7%, 487 compared to 397. Court requests accounted for 28.2% of all requests received and 33.7% of total record circulation.
Requests received by phone decreased in April (317 compared to 332) accounting for 31.6% of total requests. The number of requests faxed to the Archives increased from 90 to 109. Overall, fax requests made up 10.9% of the April 1996 total, while accounting for 9.6% of the April 1995 total. More requests were generated from the search room (111) than had been the case in April 1995 (93). Search room requests accounted for 11.1% of April 1996 reference activity as compared to 9.9% last year, an increase of 1.2%. We also received 23 requests handled in the lobby without requiring the patron to register for the search room.
The number of phone/fax requests (426) fell just short of the number of requests received through the mail (442). Phone/fax requests accounted for 42.5% of total requests, with the mail accounting for 44.1%.
Revenue from reference activity was about even, up 1.7% over last April, $7672 compared to $7546.
RECORD TRANSFERS
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS (Proceedings, Tape Recordings) 1995 [MSA T1925]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, MARYLAND HEALTH RESOURCES PLANNING COMMISSION (Minutes) 1987-1991 [MSA T2693]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, MARYLAND HEALTH RESOURCES PLANNING COMMISSION (Local Health Planning Agency File) 1987-1992 [MSA T2694]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, MARYLAND HEALTH RESOURCES PLANNING COMMISSION (Administrative File) 1987-1992 [MSA T2695]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, MEDICAL CARE FINANCE AND COMPLIANCE ADMINISTRATION (General File) 1991-1993 [MSA T2692]
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SERVICES (Tax Maps, Georeferenced Raster Files) 1995-1996 [MSA T2697]
HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION (School File) 1985-1993 [MSA T1748]
STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF ELECTION LAWS, AL SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS (Voter Registration Record) 1986-1987 [MSA T2649]
STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF ELECTION LAWS, WO SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS (Voter Registration Record) 1974-1988 [MSA T284]
TASK FORCE TO STUDY HEALTH PROFESSIONAL-CLIENT SEXUAL EXPLOITATION (General File) 1993-1995 [MSA T2696]
BALTIMORE CITY REGISTER OF WILLS (Small Estate Papers) 1989-1991 [MSA T856]
BALTIMORE CITY REGISTER OF WILLS (Estate Papers) 1974-1983 [MSA T1018]
HOWARD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records) 1929 MSA T2381]
PRESERVATION WORKSHOP
On April 16, during National Library Week, the Library of Congress invited the public to come and learn about preserving their family treasures, such as photographs and letters. Besides the sections where the staff demonstrated how to make various enclosures, there was a wide range of distributors and manufacturers of conservation products.
The demonstrations were expertly carried out by Library of Congress staff, and provided the proficiency expected by the conservation profession. The first speaker concentrated on general conservation concerns and the types of items that might be found in a collection. She covered the effect of climatic problems such as light, humidity, and temperature and other factors such as pests and pollution. She also discussed the handling of documents and materials for storage and protection.
The second speaker talked about the care of books, specifically how to handle them and how to store them. The third speaker discussed photographs, and highlighted the importance of identification, inherent problems with various photography techniques and materials, and methods and materials for exhibition and storage. The last two speakers discussed the protection, cleansing, and storage of films and sound recordings.
The displays by vendors were impressive from the standpoint of conservators, but may have overwhelmed the general public who were concerned mostly about small collections of family papers.
REFERENCE REPORT
In April, the colonial period was a popular topic for historical studies, including shipping, British convicts in Maryland, joiners in the 17th century, free blacks in Maryland, and origin of Annapolis. Local history subjects included Annapolis Junction, Goldsboro, Annapolis dairy, Kensington, and Elliott Island.
Education studies covered Mayo Elementary School, McDowell Hall at St. John's College, and St. Mary's College. Organizational and group topics included Scottish heritage in Maryland, Maryland Colonization Society, and women in the South after the Civil War.
Miscellaneous subjects involved lighthouse builders, land grants in Maryland, almshouses, public health, capital budgets for wastewater treatment, Lady Arundel, Capital Beltway, regulations affecting natural resources, and incineration.
In April, record circulation in the search room declined 11.9%, 8709 items compared to 9884 in April last year. Virtually all of the decrease is reflected in the use of original materials, down 47.5%, 1540 compared to 2931. Library circulation remained unchanged, 940 compared to 937. Microfilm usage rose 3.5%, 6229 compared to 6016. Income from reader printer copies rose 8%, $1375.00 compared to $1274.00.
The total number of researchers also decreased in April, by 5.7%, 1213 compared to 1286. New patrons fell 7.8%, 377 compared to 409. Returning researchers declined 4.7%, 836 compared to 877.
Phone reference continued its usual upward trend, with calls increasing 16% in April, 1316 compared to 1134. The average number of calls per day reached 60, compared to 57 last year.
Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist
Patricia V. Melville, Editor
Mimi Calver, Assistant Editor
Lynne MacAdam, Production Editor
Rita Molter, Circulation
The Maryland State Archives is an independent agency in the Office of Governor Parris N. Glendening and is advised by the Hall of Records Commission, the Honorable Robert C. Murphy, chairman.
The Archivist's Bulldog is issued bi-monthly to publicize record collections, finding aids, and other activities of the Archives. The Editor welcomes editorial comments and contributions from the public.
Subscription cost is $25.00 per year, and the proceeds go to the State Archives Fund. To subscribe, send your name, address, and remittance to the Maryland State Archives, 350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1686. Phone: MD toll free: (800) 235-4045 or(410) 974-3914. FAX: (410) 974-3895.
The Archives maintains a Web site on the Internet. Our Web address is http://mdarchives.state.md.us
Our e-mail address is archives@mdarchives.state.md.us
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