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ENLARGE
Records on computer: The County Clerk’s office, Information Technology Department and financing from the Public Works Department are involved with contracting with an outside imaging company to scan 660 rolls of microfilm containing records dating back to the middle of 1979. More than 1.2 million documents contained on microfilm rolls now take up space in a computer memory bank and on a set of 43 backup CDs, held by IT director Kevin Potter.
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ENLARGE
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1885 document: Only records from 1978 and on are
currently transferred to electronic media. Those records
previous to that year, such as this one from 1885,
are still in their original status — paper.
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Building a road in Douglas County once meant a lot of walking for the county’s engineering staff.
Researching records for a project forced Mike Luttrell to get up from his desk in an office on the third floor of the Douglas County Courthouse and walk down a flight of stairs to the Assessor’s Office. There, he looked up the ownership of affected properties.
From there, he stepped down the hallway to the County Clerk’s office. Inside, he slid open a green drawer containing rows of yellow boxes filled with microfilm. After grabbing one, he pulled the reel out of its box and fed it through the reader so he could scan past hundreds of documents to the page he wanted. Once he found it, Luttrell made a paper copy to take back to his office upstairs to analyze.
Most of the time, the deeds contained references to easements that had to be separately investigated. That sent Luttrell back to the Clerk’s Office to grab another yellow box of microfilm and watch another set of images flash through on the lighted screen.
Most projects involved 30 to 40 different properties, requiring Luttrell and other engineering staff members to spend hours traveling back and forth between the various offices.
Today, they only need to type in a document number and the corresponding page appears instantly upon their computer screen. The easement references that previously sent Luttrell scurrying back to the microfilm drawer time after time now only require him to punch in another reference number to find the needed page.
“We’re a huge beneficiary of that,” Luttrell said. “If nothing else, we save a huge amount of time.”
Since 2002, a number of county departments have scanned in current documents so they can be pulled up electronically. Crime reports and criminal case files from the Sheriff’s Office and the Juvenile Department are among those, as well as documents filed with the Planning and Building departments.
Because of the need to go back and view land records, marriage licenses and other documents years after they’re filed with the Clerk’s Office, officials decided not only to scan in current records but to go back and catch those that were filed in the past.
Researching records for a project forced Mike Luttrell to get up from his desk in an office on the third floor of the Douglas County Courthouse and walk down a flight of stairs to the Assessor’s Office. There, he looked up the ownership of affected properties.
From there, he stepped down the hallway to the County Clerk’s office. Inside, he slid open a green drawer containing rows of yellow boxes filled with microfilm. After grabbing one, he pulled the reel out of its box and fed it through the reader so he could scan past hundreds of documents to the page he wanted. Once he found it, Luttrell made a paper copy to take back to his office upstairs to analyze.
Most of the time, the deeds contained references to easements that had to be separately investigated. That sent Luttrell back to the Clerk’s Office to grab another yellow box of microfilm and watch another set of images flash through on the lighted screen.
Most projects involved 30 to 40 different properties, requiring Luttrell and other engineering staff members to spend hours traveling back and forth between the various offices.
Today, they only need to type in a document number and the corresponding page appears instantly upon their computer screen. The easement references that previously sent Luttrell scurrying back to the microfilm drawer time after time now only require him to punch in another reference number to find the needed page.
“We’re a huge beneficiary of that,” Luttrell said. “If nothing else, we save a huge amount of time.”
Since 2002, a number of county departments have scanned in current documents so they can be pulled up electronically. Crime reports and criminal case files from the Sheriff’s Office and the Juvenile Department are among those, as well as documents filed with the Planning and Building departments.
Because of the need to go back and view land records, marriage licenses and other documents years after they’re filed with the Clerk’s Office, officials decided not only to scan in current records but to go back and catch those that were filed in the past.
The project, involving the Clerk’s Office, Information Technology Department and financing from the Public Works Department, involved contracting with an outside imaging company to scan 660 rolls of microfilm containing records dating back to the middle of 1979. The 1.2 million documents contained on those microfilm rolls now take up space in a computer memory bank and on a set of 43 backup CDs.
One set of backup discs is held in a fireproof vault in the courthouse and another is located in a second secured vault elsewhere in Roseburg.
The company that did the work, Helion Software from Salem, used an optical character recognition process that was able to automatically extract the document control number from each document. That meant that once a record was introduced into the computer database, it could be accessed by that identifying number.
Having the records on computer safeguards them from getting lost or placed in the wrong file. It also allows county officials to decide who can access them. Sensitive records, for instance, can be protected so only authorized users can view them.
Officials can also decide whether individual employees have permission to edit records or view them in a read-only mode.
“There are some nice editing and security features that can be utilized once you have them in an electronic format,” said Kevin Potter, director of the county’s Information Technology Department.
Employees can only view documents they have been authorized to view within their area of responsibility. A Community Health Division worker in the Health Department, for example, does not have access to Mental Health records, Health Director Peggy Kennerly said.
“It’s on a need-to-know basis,” she said.
The ability to back up tapes and have more than one copy of the records available in case of an emergency is a huge advantage for the computer system, Kennerly said.
“When you only have paper files, you don’t have any backup. If there’s a fire or a flood, you lose everything,” Kennerly said.
The Community Health Division uses a 20-foot-by-15 room to store patient charts. Officials started having the records scanned into the computer system after space got tight.
“We didn’t have any more room for our charts,” said Dawnelle Marshall, Community Health director.
Records dating back to 1978 have been converted to computer files. The stack of 46 CDs that hold that health information takes up less space on a shelf than a couple of bottles of drinking water.
In the past, health workers were pulling 400 patient charts a day to look for information. The time savings from accessing those same records by computer has been immense, Marshall said.
The sheriff’s office is using volunteers to scan thousands of pages of old police reports going back several years. The two volunteers, who work three days a week, are currently scanning reports from 2001.
One set of backup discs is held in a fireproof vault in the courthouse and another is located in a second secured vault elsewhere in Roseburg.
The company that did the work, Helion Software from Salem, used an optical character recognition process that was able to automatically extract the document control number from each document. That meant that once a record was introduced into the computer database, it could be accessed by that identifying number.
Having the records on computer safeguards them from getting lost or placed in the wrong file. It also allows county officials to decide who can access them. Sensitive records, for instance, can be protected so only authorized users can view them.
Officials can also decide whether individual employees have permission to edit records or view them in a read-only mode.
“There are some nice editing and security features that can be utilized once you have them in an electronic format,” said Kevin Potter, director of the county’s Information Technology Department.
Employees can only view documents they have been authorized to view within their area of responsibility. A Community Health Division worker in the Health Department, for example, does not have access to Mental Health records, Health Director Peggy Kennerly said.
“It’s on a need-to-know basis,” she said.
The ability to back up tapes and have more than one copy of the records available in case of an emergency is a huge advantage for the computer system, Kennerly said.
“When you only have paper files, you don’t have any backup. If there’s a fire or a flood, you lose everything,” Kennerly said.
The Community Health Division uses a 20-foot-by-15 room to store patient charts. Officials started having the records scanned into the computer system after space got tight.
“We didn’t have any more room for our charts,” said Dawnelle Marshall, Community Health director.
Records dating back to 1978 have been converted to computer files. The stack of 46 CDs that hold that health information takes up less space on a shelf than a couple of bottles of drinking water.
In the past, health workers were pulling 400 patient charts a day to look for information. The time savings from accessing those same records by computer has been immense, Marshall said.
The sheriff’s office is using volunteers to scan thousands of pages of old police reports going back several years. The two volunteers, who work three days a week, are currently scanning reports from 2001.
County information online
<b>Assessor’s Office</b>
http://www.co.douglas.or.us/puboaa/default.asp • Property owners • Current assessment and valuation • Date sold • Taxing district values and tax information • Plat maps and property aerial views <b>Clerk’s Office</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/clerk • Election results • Requirements for candidates • Current candidate filings • Information on how to register to vote <b>Library</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/library • Browse card catalog • Reserve books • Access magazine and newspaper databases <b>Planning Department</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/planning • Property zoning information • Land use and development ordinance • Street guide • Natural hazard mitigation and wildfire plans • Historic <b>Surveyor’s Office</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/surveyor • Survey records • Aerial photos <b>Waste Reduction Office</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/recycle • Landfill and transfer station information • Recycling programs, special events and other resources <b>Human Resources</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/hr • Job listings • Personnel rules <b>Management and Finance</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/finance • Budget information • Financial reports <b>Fairgrounds</b> http://www.co.douglas.or.us/fair • Events calendar • Reserved seat ticket sales for fair entertainment • Douglas County Speedway tickets |
The agency generates about 7,000 cases a year, each with its own file, said Sgt. Dave Marshall. Having the records on computer also saves deputies and other employees a considerable amount of time accessing records.
It also makes it more convenient for deputies working out of different offices.
Previously, if an officer at the Riddle sheriff’s substation needed a document from the office in Drain, a copy had to be made that was then faxed to Riddle.
“Now they can have access right at their desk and print it out on a printer that’s right next to their desk,” Sgt. Marshall said. “There’s a lot of convenience in that.”
County Clerk Barbara Nielsen is working to provide online access for some of the clerk’s records. Her office is working with Potter from Information Technology to develop a subscription service for surveyors and other professionals who regularly access deed records. Title companies already are able to download information from new property documents that are scanned as they come in.
Eventually, Nielsen would like to develop a limited-access database for the general public of land title and lien records.
“I want people to be able to access information,” Nielsen said. “We just have to go through all the ins and outs of how that would work.”
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
It also makes it more convenient for deputies working out of different offices.
Previously, if an officer at the Riddle sheriff’s substation needed a document from the office in Drain, a copy had to be made that was then faxed to Riddle.
“Now they can have access right at their desk and print it out on a printer that’s right next to their desk,” Sgt. Marshall said. “There’s a lot of convenience in that.”
County Clerk Barbara Nielsen is working to provide online access for some of the clerk’s records. Her office is working with Potter from Information Technology to develop a subscription service for surveyors and other professionals who regularly access deed records. Title companies already are able to download information from new property documents that are scanned as they come in.
Eventually, Nielsen would like to develop a limited-access database for the general public of land title and lien records.
“I want people to be able to access information,” Nielsen said. “We just have to go through all the ins and outs of how that would work.”
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
