Maryland State Archivist warns fees and MD LandRec funding changes could reduce services; agency outlines digitization, ADA challenges

Elaine Rice Bachman, state archivist, told the Eastern Shore delegation on March 13 that the Maryland State Archives faces mounting costs as more records are born-digital and as web and ADA compliance requirements grow, and she urged lawmakers to consider sustainable funding models.

Bachman described the archives’ physical facilities, storage footprint and public search-room services and said the agency provides digitization and conservation services to other state agencies. "These paper records... are very stable," she said, contrasting long-lived paper preservation with the ongoing costs of migrating and maintaining electronic records.

Assistant state archivist Emily Olin Squires said the archives collects fees for services that range from certified copies and digitization for state agencies to conservation and web hosting; those fees contribute roughly $1.5–$2.0 million per year and account for as much as 20% of the agency’s budget. Squires warned that two bills this session would limit the archivist’s authority to set fees and could reduce the agency’s ability to maintain public catalogs, order fulfillment, public hours and cybersecurity.

Bachman also described MD LandRec — the state land-records platform — as a recurring-cost program that currently costs the archives about $5 million per year to maintain. She said a work group convened by Sen. Gazon is studying sustainable funding options involving the judiciary, title-sector stakeholders and the governor’s office; the archives does not intend a permanent paywall but seeks stability for the service.

Corey Lewis, another assistant state archivist, described large ongoing digitization projects, including scanning records connected to the Child Victims Act and investments in mass-digitization systems to help agencies transition from paper to digital records.

Questions from delegates focused on whether current legislation responds to the agency’s budgetary needs; Bachman said the work group is examining long-term funding options and that short-term support may be needed to avoid instability.

What’s next: Bachman said the archives welcomes visits to its facilities and that the work group’s recommendations on MD LandRec funding will inform future budget and policy actions.