The Records Management and Preservation Board (RMPB) has awarded $551,339 in grant funds to thirty-seven 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, accessibility, 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 projects, which officially begin with the new fiscal year (July 1, 2024). 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 Revenue Account. Applications for the next grant cycle will be available September 1, 2024.
For more information about the Records Management and Preservation Board's annual grant program or the work of the RMPB, contact Kyle Campbell, county records archivist, West Virginia Archives and History, by phone at (304) 558-0230, ext. 150, by e-mail at kyle.m.campbell@wv.gov, or by mail at Records Management and Preservation Board, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Building 9, Charleston, WV 25305-0300. Information can be accessed electronically at http://archive.wvculture.org/history/rmpb/rmpb.html
Barbour County Commission: $7,515: to digitize 15 books utilized frequently by title searchers and real estate attorneys.
Berkeley County Commission: $21,255, continuation of past/current grants (beginning in FY14 to present) to index digital images of administrative appeals, 2012-2016; domestic case files, 1999-2016; chancery and law case files, 1880-1963; and special boxes, 1847-1960 in the Circuit Clerk's Office; to purchase a map cabinet and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate and store the county's maps, 1975-present in the County Clerk's Office.
Boone County Commission: $15,000, to purchase high-density mobile track shelving for storage of record books, boxes, and any other records storage needs in the County Clerk's Office.
Braxton County Commission: $9,090, to digitize chancery orders in 50 tri-fold shuck cans - civil, divorce, and felony case files, 1907-1950 in the Circuit Clerk's Office.
Cabell County Commission: $9,091, scan and index civil (1995-2009), criminal (1993-2011), and domestic (1990-2011) case files using the WVSCA records management system in the Circuit Clerk's Office.
Fayette County Commission: $24,705, to digitize property record cards into digital records to be stored on an office server. Approximately 40,000 records to scan and digitally file and to purchase two ScanSnap ix 1600 wireless scanners at $419.99 each for the Assessor's Office; to purchase high-density mobile track file shelving for the Sheriff's Office.
Gilmer County Commission: $6,096, to purchase four new public access computers at $1,373.99 each for the record room in the County Clerk's Office.
Grant County Commission: $19,860, to purchase roller shelving for deed and trust deed books. Also, for the purchase of (7) 5-drawer file cabinets that store estates and vital records. This is to replace broken file cabinets and to add more storage space for those records. To purchase 2 Fujitsu fi-7480 sheet-fed scanners for the County Clerk's Office.
Greenbrier County Commission: $15,000, to purchase shelving for old record books that are stacked on the floor in the basement in the County Clerk's Office. There are approximately 225 books.
Hampshire County Commission: $1,728, to digitize grantee-grantor deed index of corporations from 1928-1998 in the County Clerk's Office. The work will be done off site by HF Group.
Hancock County Commission: $20,000, to purchase a second map cabinet due to being out of space in the one they currently have, to digitize old birth, death, marriage, probate appointment books and probate files, and to purchase two new Dell public access computers complete with keyboard, mice, and setup equipment for the County Clerk's Office.
Hardy County Commission: $10,000, to have Courthouse Computer Systems recreate index records for Grantor & Grantees from 1796-1972 for the alpha range of E-K in the County Clerk's Office.
Harrison County Commission: $25,000, to purchase KOMPACT mobile track shelving for the new building the county clerk has moved into; to digitize civil, criminal, domestic, chancery and law orders in the Circuit Clerk's Office. This is a continuation of FY 19-20 grant.
Jackson County Commission: $14,988, to digitize oversize land books and deed index books. There are approximately 72 land books and 24 index books. Precision services will be digitizing the books for the county clerk. To recover 15 order and case index books for the circuit clerk. The books are severely damaged, deteriorating and have mold and water damage.
Kanawha County Commission: $20,000, to purchase a scanner and a PC to digitize and organize various property documents (real, personal, commercial, and land records.); for personnel costs to aid in digitizing the assessor's property documents (real, personal, commercial, and land records.)
Lewis County Commission: $30,000, to scan and index domestic civil case files 1993-1997/2010-2012, criminal case files 1993-1996, and domestic violence case files 2010-2012 for the Circuit Clerk's Office; to continue index recording documents into their records management software. Deed Books 457-482 and Inventory Books 100-112 in the County Clerk's Office; to scan and index 2010-2020 criminal reports, investigation reports, and criminal complaints in the Sheriff's Office.
Mason County Commission: $24,559, to hire a temporary employee to digitize, index, proof, and update Lien Books 100-144; to purchase 5 filing cabinets for financial and voter records, 6 storage racks for elections, and 18 shelf bins for voter registration cards; and to purchase 2 laptops for election use and 1 commercial office auto feed shredder for the County Clerk's Office. For personnel costs to hire a temporary employee or use existing employees to digitize files into the Courts system and to work through the retention schedule to dispose of records past their retention period in the Circuit Clerk's Office.
McDowell County Commission: $4,909, to encapsulate and digitize Map Books 16 and 17 for the county clerk. This is a continuation of past grant projects to restore the county's original map books.
Mercer County Commission: $19,112, to purchase roller shelving for books in the record room. This shelving will replace the remaining 11.5 feet of outdated storage canisters. This is the final phase of past grants to replace shelving for the county clerk. To purchase a high-density mobile shelf storage system for boxed files from AJ-Allegheny Systems and archival storage boxes to rebox and reorganize records from the old jail site for the Circuit Clerk's Office.
Mineral County Commission: $15,000: To purchase mobile storage shelving for a renovated records vault for the County Clerk's Office.
Mingo County Commission: $25,000, to scan and index birth records,1934-1940 in the County Clerk's Office. To review and purge all print civil and divorce case files from 2009 moving backwards (2010 and forward are digitized) that have been digitized in another project for the circuit clerk. To digitize the 10,000 map cards currently stored in the record room in the Assessor's Office.
Monongalia County Commission: $18,881, to purchase a new DELL Precision 5860 tower for the Zeutschel OS 12000 book scanner. To also purchase an Uline security cart, equipped with a cover that would protect materials while being transported from the clerk's office to an offsite storage facility; to recover 11 record and index books that are severely damaged; and for personnel costs to digitize and upload 530 record books to the online database for the county clerk.
Morgan County Commission: $30,000, to scan and index magistrate and circuit case files in the Prosecutor's Office. (1990-present). This is a continuation of current and past grant projects. To scan and index map cards (1800's-2022) using full time staff at the overtime rate for the assessor. To scan and index the deed books, Deed of Trust Books 1-25, and Will Books 1-12 in the County Clerk's Office. They are almost done with deed books and will be moving to deed of trust books soon
Ohio County Commission: $9,090, to purchase shelving for a storage facility to store all books that have been digitized. There would also be a need for internal staff to select which books would need to go to storage. The shelving would consist of 3 levels per shelf and they are interested in 7 shelving units for the County Clerk's Office.
Pendleton County Commission: $10,000, to digitize and index Deed Books 45-59 using the county's records management system for the county clerk. RMPB Statewide Preservation Project digitized deed books for this county. This is a continuation of FY24 grant.
Pleasants County Commission: $10,000: to scan and index domestic (2000-2003) and civil order case files (1960-2000) so they are searchable on the WVSCA records management system for the circuit clerk.
Pocahontas County Commission: $10,000: for the circuit clerk to scan and index into the Court PLUS system, older records in storage that were obtained from the first county seat, Huntersville. There are also files beginning when the county seat was moved to Marlinton.
Preston County Commission: $12,929, to contract with Precision Services to digitize record books and upload to their indexing software. Books that will be digitized are grantor & grantee indexes; (50 books) will indexes; (1869-2000) and will books (1869-2000, 24 books.) To purchase shelving for a storage space the clerk has in a vault on the 2nd floor of the annex. On the shelving, the clerk plans to store books from the record room that are rarely used; several boxes of invoices, check copies, and payroll information. To also purchase storage boxes and folders to aid in reboxing materials when moving them to the 2nd floor vault in the County Clerk's Office.
Putnam County Commission: $10,000, for the county clerk to purchase 3 Fujitsu document scanners to digitize deeds and other records that have not been digitized (1848-present).
Raleigh County Commission: $10,142, for the County Clerk's Office to scan and index election books, appraisement books, bond books, oath books and lien books; to recover digitized books that will have to be taken apart for scanning; and to purchase a high-volume micro-cut shredder to dispose of sensitive and confidential documents along with election materials that have exceeded the retention requirement.
Ritchie County Commission: $5,117, to digitize 31 record books, index, and add to their digital records for the county clerk.
Roane County Commission: $17,882, to digitize domestic relations files 2008 and later; civil case files 1998 and later; and other records (guardianship, mental hygiene, petitions, and adoptions for the Circuit Clerk's Office. To purchase a Fujitsu Ricoh fi-7700 document scanner to digitize current documents as well as older records that need to be kept in the County Clerk's Office.
Summers County Commission: $3,000, to encapsulate and digitize Will Book 2 and digitize Will Book 1 for the county clerk.
Upshur County Commission: $29,000, to digitize property review documents, transfer documents and personal property assessment forms in the assessor's office. There are about 75,000 documents dating back to the 1930's. To complete scanning and indexing of all remaining cases files located in the old jail facility in the Circuit Clerk's Office. This is an ongoing project and this phase will include records from 1990-2000, which take up approximately 25 file cabinet drawers. To purchase 2 Fujitsu fi-7160 sheet fed document scanners; 1 Fellowes Powershred crosscut paper shredder; and for personnel costs to digitize concealed weapon applications 2019-2023 for the Sheriff's Office, which is approximately 30,000 pages.
Wayne County Commission: $14,878, for personnel costs to index Deed Books 333-304 digitized by the Statewide Preservation Project into the county's existing records management software and to encapsulate land books volumes 1932-1933 in the County Clerk's Office.
Wirt County Commission: $9,455, to the County Clerk's Office for personnel costs to index deed books previously digitized with funding from RMPB. Deed Books 1-30 will be the ones indexed.
Wyoming County Commission: $13,500, to digitize Deed Books 82-121 and to restore, encapsulate, and digitize Deed Books J and E in the County Clerk's Office.
Records Management and Preservation Board
West Virginia Archives and History