Boost in funding for electronic document management

Organizations and agencies across the country are receiving grants for digitization in hopes that electronic document management will improve data organization, security and accessibility.

The Belmont Patch reported that more than two years after Massachusetts voters approved the Community Preservation Act, nearly $2 million in funding will be up for vote at a local town meeting for allocation. Nine applications of these investments will total $959,000, $100,000 of which is to go toward the digitizing of Belmont's vital records. These documents will be converted in three installments to an electronic format for preservation.

Other counties are approving digitization initiatives with similar objectives, including West Virginia county governments, according to The Inter-Mountain. The source revealed that Governor Earl Tomblin recently presented 30 West Virginia county commissions with grants, totaling $427,540, for their respective records management and preservation projects. These projects are expected to make public records held in county government offices more widely available while improving management and storage conditions.

"Every West Virginia county, and the people who call them home, [has] a story to tell and these grant funds will help preserve those stories for generations to come," Tomblin said, according to the news provider.

There are nine projects, and grant recipients will use funding for a variety of efforts. The Hard County Commission, which will receive $19,727, plans to restore early court records and scan and index chancery and law case files. Additionally, the Lewis County Commission is to receive $10,000 for document imaging technologies to scan and index order books from the circuit clerk's office. The Pendleton County Commission plans to use its $22,716 to digitize and microfilm deed books in the county clerk's office.

By converting records to a digital format, counties can protect critical information for years to come.

Brought to you by Image One Corporation providing complete information governance since 1994.