Chap. 230.—An ACT to provide for the transfer of certain public records to
the State library board; to prescribe the duties of the State librarian and
the State library board in connection with such records, and to appropriate
funds to carry out the provisions of this act. {[H B 323]

Approved March 16, 1928

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That upon
application made by the State librarian, every official or custodian
of any public records of the State of Virginia, or any county, city
or town in said State, shall deliver to the State library board any
and all official books, records, documents, original papers and maps
of a date prior to and including the year efghteen hundred that
may be in his custody or possession or under his control. The
application shall be made to the court under the jurisdiction of
which such records are kept, and the court, or judge thereof in
vacation, shall by an order entered of record, which order shall
contain a list of the records, cause said records to be delivered to
the State library board by the sheriff or other officer to be desig-
nated, and a receipt taken therefor.

The State librarian shall cause to be made from any and all of
such records as may be necessary and essential for public use and
convenience, by photostatic process, one negative and one positive
print. When such copies have been made the negative copy shall
be retained in the archives department of this State, and the posi-
tive copy shall be bound and returned to the county, city or other
source trom which obtained. The original records shall be returned
by the State library board within a reasonable time to the source
trom which obtained, unless authorized by the court to retain
possession of the same.

2. For the purpose of paying the expenses of making copies
vf the records, and such other incidental expenses as may be in-
curred in carrying out the provisions of this act, the sum of five
thousand dollars for the year ending February twenty-eighth, nine-
teen hundred and twenty-nine, and the sum of five thousand dollars
for the year ending February twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and
thirty, is hereby appropriated out of any monies in the treasury, not
otherwise appropriated, the same to be paid by the treasurer on
warrant of the comptroller upon proper voucher or vouchers, re-
quired by the comptroller approved by the State library board.

The State librarian is, hereby, empowered, authorized, and di-

rected on the last page of the said photostatic copies, to certify,
over his hand and the official seal of the State library board, that
the said copies are true and correct copies of the contents of the
hooks so photostatted from the originals thereof, and such photo-
static copy, or extracts or copies of any matter therein contained,
duly certified by the lawful custodian thereof, are hereby made
primary evidence the same as is taken from the original records, in
any courts, or otherwise, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.