Chuck:  This is exactly what I have been saying for years now- it is inevitable that the counties , especially faced with the drastic reduction in real estate assessed values which in turn relates to reduced taxes collected by the respective counties and smaller budgets, which anymore all seem to be a contest to see who can come in with the highest numbers while still fooling the citizens into thinking they are reducing their budgets- what a joke, until they run out of money, the money that they can no longer collect. The on line systems will just have to be the way they go- they can no longer afford to maintain the large record rooms, all the books take up valuable office space and they all need to leap into this century and modernize their systems to be able to handle the volume( that may or may not be present , for the time being)

Now, as the primary users of the record rooms and their contents- it is our duty and responsibility to be there to offer our input as to how and when the changes are made- talk to the clerk's and the "workers" in the clerk's office and let them know just what you think should be done when they do make the change- security is always something that needs to be addressed- as others on here have pointed out, there is no such thing as a secure site- but- someone somewhere has one- and they need to seek those professionals to assist them in that aspect. Then there is the part about accessibility- who gets in and how- I agree all should be by subscription-and all potential subscribers should be US citizens- better yet- known to the clerk's office as a safe subscriber (local , that is) Have signed security agreements so there are penalties for abusing the system or breaking their guidelines, rules, etc.- in other words, don't just open it up like so many counties have done to anyone that wished access- like Florida, Arizona and Texas as examples of how not to do it- and look at all the problems they are having for not having the kind of pre-advise and input they could have had if they took the time to "think it through" before loading the information on the INTERNET and letting everyone think they were providing their citizens an easy way to get that copy they needed, or look up that easement- that is what we are here to provide- as we can all see-the cheapest way is not always the best way to get the desired results.

I am sure there will be some counter arguments and they are just as valid as mine- and welcomed- but as you have said- we no longer listen to "E.F. Hutton" or have those bulky monitors resting and taking up most of out real desktops- or have to wonder how we could mount that TV on the wall!!  The time for the change is upon us all- , or has already occurred for some of us.

The other part of this is that I am concerned about doing my job, providing the people I provide those services to , the best product I can, in the most efficient manner. So. I leave the security of the sites to the professionals that the respective counties hire to protect their data- I can always make suggestions, and do so when I think I have something of value for them to consider. Errors in indexing and scanning will occur, just let them know of the error, I find they do an outstanding job of making the fix and or corrections  to their systems. The old indexing had errors to- it was a labor intensive process (which they can no longer afford) and was extremely time consuming- the people doing the indexing review had to catch the error- something that I have seen occur - the part I don't know is how many did I NOT see or know were there . I still find them in the old indexes- and they do fix them-

I have written enough- now I will await the replies and the onslaught of nay sayers - but this is for discussion anyway- so let them post.

Steve Minke

Franklin Tn ( and on-line with 5 counties, 4 in Va and 1 here in Tn)