Dennis town clerk urges vault upgrades and digitization to protect centuries of records

Dennis Town Clerk Terry Bunce told the Dennis Historical Commission on Nov. 3 that the town’s paper archives include vital records and bound reports dating to the 18th century, that storage space in the municipal vault is limited, and that the town is pursuing digitization and funding to protect fragile material.

Bunce said the office maintains births, deaths and marriages and other bound records “going back to the 18 hundreds” and that family records “go back to the 17 hundreds.” She described two off-site storage containers with different retention statuses, recounted flood damage in 2008 that destroyed some records, and described the formal retention process that requires submission of RB2 forms to the state archivist before destruction.

“Right now, we still have to maintain originals as much as we can,” Bunce said, and added that the town is already using an electronic system for many records. She said the town uses Laserfiche and General Code for searchable records and is migrating vital records to a system she called “Maverick.” Bunce also said the town has an Excel inventory of boxed material and can provide copies or scans on request.

Members pressed Bunce on the condition of records kept in trailers and storage containers. Bunce said container 1 (near the cemetery) has poor air quality and that the town should consider a climate‑controlled building or other storage solution. “We’re running out of room in our vault,” she said, and suggested the commission and town might pursue Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funding, grants or vendor contracts for conservation and digitization.

Bunce described recent steps the office has taken to make records accessible while protecting originals: wearing gloves for handling fragile books, keeping permanent books bound and searchable, documenting boxes after the 2008 flood, and coordinating with the finance director and IT for scanned copies. She said some records flagged for destruction must still be permitted by state archivists after audit.

Commission members offered to support an application for CPC funds and said they would provide letters of recommendation; the Dennis Historical Society also offered to write a letter. Bunce said she would share an archivist’s recommendations and existing inventories with commissioners.

Next steps: Bunce will provide copies of the inventory and the archivist’s write-up; commissioners said they would help prepare or endorse CPC applications and continue to investigate vendors and grants for digitization and vault upgrades.