Donna,
I see so many documents with only a reference number!  No legal.  Probably 90% of recons, sub ttees, and  assigns don't write out the legal.  And if one digit is transposed, the reference is wrong.  I've seen that too, releasing 200112311210 instead of 200113211210.  Even though six or seven people may have to touch the document to get it of record and indexed, it just slips through.
    I wasn't reserching in the 70's, but I can see the difference in quality indexing from then till now in the research I do day to day.    Some  clerks today don't realize the "big picture", I think.  How important their jobs are and how important the historical recordkeeping is. The grand scope is lost in the immediate need to process a huge volume of documents.  I am an ex-Courthouse employee, and I know from the inside that more and more work is being spread over less and less people.  Our County is developing so fast it is breaking all previous records for any year in  recording Subdivisions, Surveys, and All documents filed.  And the "keying"  (entering index information) job that used to be done by 4 people about 8 years ago is now being done by 2 people. The conditioins are prone for error-making.  Understaffed, over-worked, tired, stressed employees coming back day after day to more and more unending workload. (Job Security?)  It is sad.
Thanks for your insight, Donna.
Kim Haase
Flathead County  MT