The Records Management and Preservation Board (RMPB) has awarded $384,027 in grant funds to forty-two West Virginia county commissions for records management and preservation projects. The Board reviewed submissions and made its recommendations in January for projects to improve management, storage conditions, access, and preservation of public records held in county offices. Following official letters announcing the successful grants, RMPB staff will provide technical assistance in setting up the grant projects, which officially begin with the new fiscal year (July 1, 2016). A complete list of recipients is attached.
The RMPB was created by the West Virginia Legislature in 2000 to develop a system of records management and preservation for county governments. Funding for the grants program comes from filing fees collected by county clerks and deposited in the special Public Records and Preservation Account. Applications for the next grant cycle will be available September 1, 2016.
For more information about the Records Management and Preservation Board's annual grant program or the work of the RMPB, contact Denise Ferguson, county records archivist, West Virginia Archives and History, by phone at (304) 558-0230, ext. 150, by e-mail at denise.l.ferguson@wv.gov, or by mail at Records Management and Preservation Board, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Building 9, Charleston, WV 25305-0300. Information can be accessed electronically at www.wvculture.org/history/rmpb/rmpb.html.
Barbour County Commission, $6,218 to scan and index criminal case files in the prosecuting attorney's office.
Berkeley County Council, $10,000 to index digital images of case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Boone County Commission, $10,000 to scan and index civil and criminal case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Braxton County Commission, $13,182 to purchase open steel shelving and archival cubic foot records storage boxes for the prosecuting attorney's, sheriff's and circuit clerk's offices; and to digitize chancery case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Brooke County Commission, $4,215 to rebind and encapsulate deed books in the county clerk's office.
Calhoun County Commission, $10,000 to index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project in the county clerk's office.
Doddridge County Commission, $8,650 to purchase a map cabinet and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate maps, and to rebind and encapsulate will and land books in the county clerk's office.
Fayette County Commission, $10,305 to digitize birth, death, and marriage books in the county clerk's office, and for the county commission to purchase an oversize scanner to digitize maps, blueprints, and other records that will be used by all county offices.
Gilmer County Commission, $12,347 to purchase roller shelving for improved storage of deed books in the county clerk's office.
Grant County Commission, $9,245 to digitize deed books and deeds of trust books in the county clerk's office.
Greenbrier County Commission, $12,500 to scan and index map cards in the assessor's office, and to scan and index civil and criminal case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Hampshire County Commission, $6,954 to restore and digitize wills and will books, and to purchase roller shelving in the county clerk's office.
Hardy County Commission, $9,455 to digitize land books in the assessor's office.
Harrison County Commission, $10,000 to digitize the assessor's copies of land books in the county clerk's office.
Jackson County Commission, $14,859 to purchase map cabinets and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate maps in the county clerk's office.
Kanawha County Commission, $19,091 to purchase roller shelving for oversize deed and land books in the county clerk's office; and to scan and index civil case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Lewis County Commission, $15,000 to index digitized deed books in the county clerk's office, and to scan and index criminal case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Lincoln County Commission, $11,650 to index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project, to purchase public access computers for the records room, and to restore and encapsulate land books in the county clerk's office.
Marshall County Commission, $2,727 to review records and implement the retention schedule, and to scan and index case files in the prosecuting attorney's office.
Mason County Commission, $12,500 to digitize the assessor's copies of land books, and to scan and index estate files in the county clerk's office.
McDowell County Commission, $3,000 to digitize maps in the county clerk's office.
Mercer County Commission, $11,703 to purchase moveable track shelving for long-term inactive case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Mingo County Commission, $7,500 to scan and index order books in the circuit clerk's office.
Monroe County Commission, $7,847 to scan and index map cards in the assessor's office, and to purchase shelving for inactive case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Morgan County Commission, $6,355 to scan and index tax records, and to purchase two color scanners and open steel shelving for the sheriff's office.
Nicholas County Commission, $4,818 to restore and encapsulate the assessor's copies of land books in the county clerk's office.
Ohio County Commission, $10,000 to digitize microfilm of case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Pendleton County Commission, $4,636 to digitize deed, release, and deeds of trust books, and to restore, rebind, and encapsulate deed books in the county clerk's office.
Pocahontas County Commission, $7,500 to review and implement the records retention schedule and scan and index deed books in the county clerk's office.
Preston County Commission, $7,500 to scan and index deed books in the county clerk's office.
Putnam County Commission, $9,500 to digitize oil and gas lease books in the county clerk's office, and to purchase open steel shelving for homestead and property records in the assessor's office.
Raleigh County Commission, $4,963 to review and implement the records retention schedule, and to purchase a high-volume, cross-cut shredder to dispose of records that have exceeded the retention requirement in the assessor's office.
Ritchie County Commission, $13,991 to purchase moveable track shelving for improved case file management in the prosecuting attorney's office.
Roane County Commission, $4,523 to encapsulate and rebind the earliest chancery order books in the circuit clerk's office.
Summers County Commission, $5,146 to digitize military discharge books, and to restore, rebind, and encapsulate will and deed books in the county clerk's office.
Taylor County Commission, $7,993 to scan and index map cards, and to purchase color scanners and public access computers for the assessor's office.
Tucker County Commission, $11,136 to scan and index birth books, to purchase public access computers, and to restore, rebind, and encapsulate the assessor's copies of land books in the county clerk's office.
Upshur County Commission, $10,000 to digitize chancery and law case files in the circuit clerk's office.
Wayne County Commission, $17,109 to index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project, to encapsulate the assessor's copies of land books, and to purchase a map cabinet in the county clerk's office.
Webster County Commission, $7,500 to scan and index deeds of trust books in the county clerk's office.
Wood County Commission, $7,500 to index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project in the county clerk's office.
Wyoming County Commission, $4,909 to restore, rebind, and encapsulate will and birth books in the county clerk's office.
Records Management and Preservation Board
West Virginia Archives and History