The Carroll County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to move forward with a plan to digitize the vast array of records stored by two of the county’s offices. According to Carroll County Recorder, Ashten Wittrock, storing decades’ worth of information offsite would free up space in the courthouse, allow residents to search for documents online, and protect records from potential loss or damage. However, scanning and uploading thousands and thousands of pages is an expensive process. Wittrock says the supervisors had two options, the first from ArcaSearch and US Imaging for scanning and storage.
The second option is very similar to the first but would have nearly all the recorder’s office documents stored with the county’s existing search program, Eagle Search. Wittrock says the main difference between the two proposals is the cost of annual hosting fees.
Wittrock adds the options would functionally be the same for customers, regardless of which route the supervisors picked. She and County Auditor, Kourtney Payer, both favored Option 2.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the contracts with US Imaging, ArcaSearch, and Eagle Search for a combined total of just over $216,000. This price includes scanning, image enhancement, and server storage of index books, land records, county newspapers, supervisor minutes, election results, and other documents dating back to the 1850s. The project will be paid for using funds allocated to the county in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Records scanning is scheduled to begin next month.
