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April 28, 2009

Historic records to be scanned

By Rich Flowers News Editor

The Henderson County Commissioners Court approved an agreement with the University of North Texas in Denton for the scanning of historical documents. The scanning will be part of the Portal to Texas History project.

Henderson County District Clerk Becky Hanks said the first records scanned will be paid for with $5,000 provided by the Ginger Murchison Foundation.

“I’m very excited about this being done,” Hanks said. “This portal will be open to anybody who has Internet access. They’re not going to be locked up in the old jail, but will be available to the citizens of Henderson County.”

The Portal to Texas History project will be a repository of digital information. According to the UNT Web site, “The Portal to Texas History offers students and lifelong learners a digital gateway to the rich collections held in Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies and private collections.” Numerous Texas counties are among the entities participating in the project.

Hanks said the scanning will begin with documents that date back to the 1800s, some more than 150 years old. Many of the old, brittle pages will have to be copied soon or the documents will be lost forever.

“I want to start with the first docket book from back when the county was formed,” Hanks said. “We’ve got three or four boxes ready to go, but I want that book first.”

Hanks said UNT will return the original documents to the county once the scanning is complete.

The Murchison Foundation donation will be enough to pay for scanning of about 1,200 documents. Hanks said there are many more documents that will eventually need to be scanned.

“I would suggest if anyone of you are interested and up that way that you stop in and see what they’re doing,” Hanks said. “They’re very interested in keeping all of these old records intact. It’s not just a job to them.”

In other action, Commissioners:

• approved purchasing rules and regulations provided by the purchasing department;

• authorized payment of bills in the amount of $135,024.01.

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