Records office uses ARPA funds and shelving upgrade to expand access and digitize historic records

Joanie Serat, records request manager, and department staff told the budget committee the archives have completed a mobile‑shelving expansion that added about 3,500 box spaces and cleared room for county offices to move records into a climate‑controlled repository. Serat said the change reduced clutter and improved preservation and retrieval.

Serat described an ARPA‑funded digitization contract with Stat Solutions (Lebanon, Tenn.) that will scan nearly 1,000 boxes of permanent records and about 319 tax rolls; the marriage records set from 1795 to 1949 has already been completed and is available in Stat’s delivery system. She said staff indexed and inventoried each box before it left county custody and that Stat Solutions has returned requested images within 45 minutes during testing.

Staff said digitization improves public access, reduces physical handling of fragile records and mitigates risk from fire or flood. The department also seeks a future barcoding/inventory system to speed retrieval and track records checked out by the courts. No formal budget vote was taken; the digitization work is being completed under previously authorized ARPA funds.