The Records Management and Preservation Board (RMPB) has awarded $388,236 in grant funds to thirty-six 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 grant projects, which officially begin with the new fiscal year (July 1, 2019). 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, 2019.
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 [email protected], 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, $4,000 to digitize oil and gas and deed books, including their indices, and to purchase a color document scanner for the county clerk's office.
Barbour County Commission, $10,000 to digitize oil and gas lease books, deed books, and deed of trust index books and to purchase roller shelving for the county clerk’s office.
Berkeley County Council, $10,000 to purchase canvas covers for minute, deed index, judgement lien, and deed of trust books in the county clerk’s office, and to index digital images of case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Boone County Commission, $2,640 to purchase shelving for personal and real property assessment forms, and a high-volume micro-cut shredder for the assessor’s office.
Braxton County Commission, $18,310 to purchase shelving for map, homestead, and personal property cards in the assessor’s office, and to digitize chancery case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Cabell County Commission, $11,793 to scan and index deed books and to purchase public access computers for the county clerk’s office, and to digitize building permits in the county commission office.
Calhoun County Commission, $4,859 to digitize marriage, death, birth, and lease books in the county clerk’s office.
Clay County Commission, $9,865 to index digital images of deed and judgement lien books in the county clerk’s office.
Fayette County Commission, $13,268 to purchase a high-volume, micro-cut shredder for confidential documents that have exceeded the records retention requirement in the county commission office, and to purchase a public access computer and to scan, encapsulate and index maps in the in the assessor’s office.
Hancock County Commission, $3,236 to purchase a map cabinet and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate the county clerk’s original maps.
Hardy County Commission, $12,553 to create an online index for digitized deed books in the county clerk’s office, and to digitize land books in the assessor’s office.
Harrison County Commission, $10,000 to rebind the earliest order books and to scan and index the civil, criminal, chancery, and law order books in the circuit clerk’s office.
Kanawha County Commission, $14,414 to recover the deed and lease books in the county clerk’s office, and to purchase shelving and to scan and index civil case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Lewis County Commission, $10,000 to index digitized deed and fiduciary books in the county clerk’s office, and to scan and index case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Mason County Commission, $12,031 to purchase a color scanner and public access computer and to scan and index map and homestead cards in the assessor’s office, and to purchase scanners in the county clerk’s office.
McDowell County Commission, $11,947 to purchase a color scanner and printer and to encapsulate and digitize map books in the county clerk’s office.
Mercer County Commission, $15,000 to purchase roller shelving for oversize books in the county clerk’s office.
Mineral County Commission, $10,000 to digitize chancery and law case files in the circuit clerk’s office, and to scan and index deed books in the county clerk’s office.
Mingo County Commission, $18,816 to purchase a color scanner and public access computer and to digitize indices in the county clerk’s office, and to review case files and implement the records retention schedule in the circuit clerk’s office.
Monroe County Commission, $25,000 to scan and index criminal, civil, guardianship, and administrative order books and to preserve water-damaged case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Morgan County Commission, $14,491 to scan and index deed books and purchase a color scanner in the county clerk’s office, to scan and index map cards in the assessor’s office, and to scan and index case files in the prosecuting attorney’s office.
Ohio County Commission, $10,000 to digitize chancery case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Pendleton County Commission, $9,964 to index deed books that were digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project and to restore and encapsulate the earliest minute books in the county clerk’s office.
Pleasants County Commission, $995 to purchase a public access computer and printer in the circuit clerk’s office.
Pocahontas County Commission, $19,051 to scan and index chancery and law case files in the circuit clerk’s office, and to digitize and index deed books and to encapsulate and rebind a death book in the county clerk’s office.
Preston County Commission, $10,000 to scan and index deed books and to restore and encapsulate the assessor’s copies of land books in the county clerk’s office.
Putnam County Commission, $9,068 to digitize the assessor’s copies of land books in the county clerk’s office.
Raleigh County Commission, $13,423 to purchase a map cabinet and Mylar sleeves to encapsulate and preserve maps in the county clerk’s office.
Randolph County Commission, $7,500 to purchase a color scanner, public access computer and micro-cut shredder and to scan and index civil, criminal, and domestic case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Ritchie County Commission, $9,146 to digitize the assessor’s copies of land books in the county clerk’s office.
Roane County Commission, $10,962 to scan and index map cards and to purchase a color scanner in the assessor’s office, and to scan and index civil, criminal, and domestic case files in the circuit clerk’s office.
Summers County Commission, $6,232 to purchase a high-volume color printer for the county clerk’s office.
Tyler County Commission, $3,901 to rebind and encapsulate the assessor’s copies of land books in the county clerk’s office.
Upshur County Commission, $10,737 to digitize chancery and civil order books in the circuit clerk’s office, and to scan and index coal and railroad maps, personal property assessments, property review and transfer documents in the assessor’s office.
Wayne County Commission, $9,998 to recover and encapsulate the assessor’s copies of land books and to index deed books digitized by the RMPB Statewide Preservation Project in the county clerk’s office.
Wirt County Commission, $9,718 to purchase a microfiche scanner and to index digital images of deed books in the county clerk’s office.
Wyoming County Commission, $9,318 to digitize deed books and to restore and encapsulate the earliest deed books in the county clerk’s office.
Records Management and Preservation Board
West Virginia Archives and History