Recorder outlines county records digitization using preservation fund revenue

Jefferson County’s recorder reported an ongoing project to digitize historical records using the county’s preservation fund and revenue from an online document-access service.

At the May 1 commission meeting, the recorder said an initial contractor visit had allowed staff to collect and ship records and that the first round of scanning will bring records “caught up from 1993 till 1889,” with a later round expected to extend the archive back to 1812. The recorder said some volumes already exist on microfilm and that the project will index and digitize both books and microfilm to provide public access and an additional backup layer.

The recorder told the commission the preservation fund will cover the project’s cost, and that the county has been receiving monthly revenue from its document-access system — described in the meeting as “Doc’s Pop System” or “DocSpot” — averaging roughly $1,200 to $2,400 per month (about $300 to $600 a week). Meeting remarks said those receipts are being returned to the preservation fund to finance digitization and future projects.

No new appropriation was requested at the meeting; staff said the current preservation fund balance is sufficient to cover the first phase. The recorder also reported that contractors had removed 41 boxes for scanning and would return for additional volumes once the county’s own scanner issues are resolved.

County commissioners and staff discussed logistics for storing returned materials and noted the county would reorganize space once scanning reduced the number of boxed volumes. The recorder said indexing and scanning pricing was included in the contractor estimate and that a second round of scanning has not yet been scheduled.

The commission did not take any formal action at the meeting on the digitization project; remarks indicated the project is progressing under the recorder’s authority and funded from the preservation fund.