In the event that the Archivist does not believe them of sufficient historical
value to be preserved, the custodian may then request the Board of Public
Works for permission to destroy them (Chapter 825), and custodians may
now have copies of their records made by photographic process by sending
them to the land office or to the Hall of Records for this purpose (Chapter
421).

STATE LIBRARY..Annapolis

Name. Postoffice.
State Librarian:
Robert F. Leach, Jr. (Term expires 1947) ...... .............. Baltimore

Custodian of Works of Reference;
Miss Frances B. Wells.......................... Annapolis

Law Librarian:
Nelson J. Molter............................ Severna Park

The State Librarian is appointed by the Governor, with the consent
of the Senate, to hold office during the term of the Governor (Con-
stitution, Art. 7, Sec.3); the Custodian of Works of Reference is
appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, for a term
of two years or until the appointment of a successor. (Ch.50, 1906);
The Law Librarian is appointed by the Library Committee to hold
office at the pleasure of said committee. (Ch. 413, 1939)

The Session Laws, House and Senate Journals, and the Maryland Re-
ports are distributed by the Librarian as published, in accordance with
Chapter 518 of the Laws of 1939. The remaining copies are stored in the
State Library and distributed under the direction of the Library Committee.

The State Library, which was created by Chapter 53 of the Laws of 1826, is
located on the second floor of the Court of Appeals Building. The Library
has two distinct functions and objectives; the Law Library, which is con-
sidered the main function and which comprises about seventy-five per cent
of the total number of books, is primarily for the use of the Court of Appeals
and the Judges, although attorneys and laymen have free access to the
books. The Reference section is for the use of the general public. In all
there are about 112,000 volumes in the library.

It has on its shelves not only an extensive collection of law books, in-
cluding an English collection, but a large number of exceptionally
valuable reference volumes, many of which are now out of print, and
which are being freely consulted by authors, students, research workers
and others from all parts of the country, among them the four rare
Audubon volumes; a complete file of the Maryland Gazette, one of the
first newspapers published in this country; historical reference books
of colonial times, and the records of the wars of the Revolution and
1812; books on travel, art and miscellaneous subjects, as well as fic-
tion and the current magazines.

The reading room is open to the public daily, where any of the volumes
in the Library may be consulted.

Members of the Library Committee are: B. Lindley Sloan, Chief Judge,
Court of Appeals, Judge Edward S. Delaplaine, Judge Stephen R. Collins,
and Malcolm Coaan, Reporter of the Court of Appeals.