Commission backs expansion of county archives staff and conservation lab

The Budget Committee approved two new positions for the Maury County Archives: an archives aide (a frontline, patron‑service and runner role) and a paper conservator to staff and operate a newly completed conservation laboratory.

Archivist Tom (presenting) told the committee the county’s move of records into the new archives facility doubled the collection and created continuous service needs — for example, routine requests for certified historic documents. The archives aide will greet patrons, pull requested documents from storage, scan them and transmit certified copies to outside offices; the paper conservator will perform specialized conservation work on fragile records and — the archivist said — provide fee‑for‑service conservation work for other counties and private collectors.

Committee members asked whether the conservator position could pay for itself via fee work; the archivist and staff committed to producing a business plan and competitive fee schedule for the commission to review. County staff noted in committee that an in‑house conservator would make the archives a unique regional resource and could generate revenue over time.

Commissioners approved both positions after discussing the likelihood of future fee revenue and potential donated equipment (an immersion table for conservation that a local business offered to fabricate and donate). The committee asked staff to return with a fee schedule and revenue projection for the conservator role during the capital and budget finalization process.