Maryland State Archives

CAM constructed the 100,000-sq. ft. Hall of Records for the Maryland State Archives. The Archives stack capacity is 160,000 cubic feet, with 38 miles of shelving in the system. At the time the structure was completed, the Hall of Records had the second largest installation of compact shelving in the United States, exceeded only by the Madison Building of the Library of Congress! The weight of the equipment is 1.5 million pounds, and the floor loading capacity in the stack areas is 350 pounds per square foot.

Half of the 100,000-sq. ft. is devoted to the storage of collections. Four floors hold the main stack areas, and seven rooms are designed for the care of special collections, such as maps, photographs, and electromagnetic media. The general stack areas and four of the special collections rooms are maintained at 60 degrees and 55% relative humidity. Three special collections rooms are maintained at 50 degrees and 35% relative humidity for the storage of photographic materials. Fire control for the main stack spaces is provided by a sprinkler system with on/off heads. Special collection rooms have Halon fire-suppression systems installed.

The entire project was completed for $1.2 million under the value of the appropriations set aside for this structure.

“CAM had a great group of people to work with.” Christoper N. Allan, Deputy State Archivist