Digitizing records certainly provides convenience in finding, retrieving, and storing vital documents, but it’s also becoming essential in preserving our history. Avenu is pleased to announce our “Book One Club” which honors government agencies that have scanned back to sovereignty.
Why is this important?
Government records ensure accountability, provide proof of agreements, and serve as a historic account of events. Legislative and regulatory requirements mandate that public and governance records are kept and preserved as historic records and available for the public to research.
As our country progresses in age, there are numerous challenges to records management. One of the main challenges is deterioration that occurs over time from usage, sunlight, oxidation, mold and improper storage. Insufficient storage and the cost of archiving paper records is another growing issue for many offices. Some areas of the country are prone to natural disasters making records at risk from flood, fire, or smoke damage. Paper, microfiche, and microfilm are not designed to last forever. In fact, even the ink on paper isn’t eternal.
This is why many agencies are making the move to digitize all the way back to “Book One.” In our next quarterly newsletter, we will highlight some of our Book One Club members. One of our very first Book One members happens to also have the oldest and most historic records in the country. (We’ll give you a keyword hint: Mayflower). Yes! In our next client newsletter you will learn how John Buckley, Register of Deeds for Plymouth County, MA and is the guardian of records dating from the Pilgrims to present day Land Records. John executed a plan to digitize all the way back to Book One which included U.S. Colonial records dating back to 1620.
Preserving records is an essential government function and advances in technology have enabled governments to revolutionize record preservation. After paper and ink came are early Archival medias included Microfilm that became commercialized in the 1920’s, and the first scanner in 1957 followed by the first copier by in 1959. In fact, Avenu released one of the first electronic Land Records Systems in our country in 1978 and has kept up-to-date with the latest technologies from that point to present day.
If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out to succeed@avenuinsights.com