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Clerk warns protective sleeves, fading photostats are creating space and preservation challenges
Summary
County Clerk Chambers told commissioners that protective covers and preservation sleeves are effectively doubling book sizes and straining shelving; she urged attention to space planning and prioritized fading photostat restoration.
During the July 28 public hearing, Miss Chambers, the Liberty County county clerk, described two preservation challenges confronting the restoration project: limited physical storage and deteriorating photostat materials.
Chambers explained that when restored volumes are fitted with protective covers and sleeves the books grow in physical size, sometimes becoming "cut in 2," which is pushing the clerk's office beyond current shelving capacity. "Our shelving space is inadequate, and we are starting to feel the pinch on the space," she said, adding that the office hopes to identify more room this year.
Separately, Chambers highlighted photostats as an urgent technical priority: these items — white lettering on black-backed paper — are fading as the black backing turns gray, rendering the white lettering increasingly illegible. She said the photostats will need restoration and scanning "in the next year" to preserve readability.
Chambers invited commissioners and residents to view the restoration work and the commemorative displays the office has prepared, noting a shadow box exhibit and a color-coded organization system that helps staff and the public find records. The chair then closed the public hearing and moved the court to its next agenda item.
