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by
Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
Those
wishing to search records in the Buchanan County Courthouse
have a new tool available to them in the form of a
computerized records management system.
The
new system gives them computer access to some land records,
wills, deeds and orders filed in Circuit Court, without the
necessity of having to refer to hard copy books on file,
according to Circuit Court Clerk Bev Tiller.
The
Buchanan Court is one of 70 across the state to have the new
system and currently has the most current software of any
court in Virginia.
Scanning
is ongoing of the physical files stored in the courthouse
records room, Tiller said, noting the new system has records
from August 2005 to present available for search by computer
now.
In
addition to allowing those who wish to search files
electronically the opportunity to do so by computer at the
office now, those who complete an application will have the
ability to access the service from other locations away from
the courthouse where they have computer access -- at their
offices or homes.
While
only the more recent records are accessible now, plans call
for the system to include older records as well.
An
index has already been created which will start the records at
January 1976, however, all of those images have not yet been
scanned and are not yet available for research by computer.
Sutton
Information Systems is the low qualified bidder, recommended
by the Supreme Court of Virginia to do the scanning.
Some
$63,125 has been allocated to the Buchanan Circuit Court for
scanning of old documents and maintenance of the current
system through two state Technology Trust Funds (TTF). Those
funds come from a fee assessed by clerk's statewide in every
law action, as well as for deeds and judgments recorded.
Tiller
said the clerk's office is eligible to apply for TTF funds
each August.
The
Records Management System was created in 1988 in response to a
group of Circuit Court Clerks asking the Supreme Court to
develop an alternate to high priced private indexing systems.
Buchanan
County currently has more than 53,000 scanned images and the
capacity to hold 400,000 images and the ability to expand to
more than 40 million images, making it the largest database to
date in the state project.
The
system automatically updates image and index information on a
secure remote server each time records are merged.
The
system contains what Tiller said is proactive monitoring which
detects any problem the system may have and notifies the
Supreme Court.
When
the Buchanan system is fully operational, Tiller noted it will
allow attorneys who access the system to be able to do title
searches without having to leave their offices.
The
good thing for the clerk's record room, she said is that by
allowing remote access, the number of people searching records
in the records room is down which makes it easier for those
who do not have access to the system, or who prefer to search
things by hand, to be able to do so.
"Sometimes
it gets difficult to maneuver in there with a lot of people
searching records at the same time," Tiller said.
She
noted a local attorney had recently used the new system and
had been able to access copies of 1,600 pages in a short
period of time.
"With
the old system, that would have taken a whole day or more to
copy those records," Tiller said.
Two
public terminals are available in the records room for
searches, and deputy clerks remain available to help locate
items needed.
"The
system is very user friendly," Tiller said.
Security
features do not allow the documents to be manipulated in any
way.
Those
who wish to have the remote access capabilities must make an
application with the clerk's office and Tiller said the
Supreme Court has set up a sliding scale fee based on usage
from $25 to $100.
In
addition to helping the general public find what it needs, as
well as attorneys looking up case-specific information, Tiller
said the commissioner of revenue and the treasurer also have
access to the records from their offices which saves them the
trip to the clerk's office when they need to locate records.
In
addition to the information available for the records Tiller
mentioned, criminal case actions are also now available for
review on-line. The Virginia Supreme Court has made that
available since the end of 2006, Tiller said.
Those
who wish to make application to be able to use the remote
records management system may contact the clerk's office to
complete an application.
For more of the story,
see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at
newsstands now. For more information on how to subscribe
to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.
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