In 2008, former Clerk and Recorder, Stephanie Y. O'Malley, began a multi-year project to rescue and preserve millions of records in its custody for future generations. This effort involves rescuing millions of deteriorating records currently held on older media including microfilm, microfiche, and on paper. These documents date from 1859 to the present.
The project also includes improving the quality of many newer documents that were scanned into electronic form but are of marginal readability. High-quality versions of these documents are being created from microfilm in the state archives for re-imaging into digital form.
This project will convert, and thus preserve, more than 17 million Clerk and Recorder records. A statistical sampling of all conversions are visually inspected by trained Clerk and Recorder staff members for quality control, in order to make sure all conversions are completed accurately and have a high degree of readability.
Originally, this was planned as a five-year project. The projected completion date was extended due to economic conditions and the city's need to trim budgets.
Phase 1 - Target completion date summer 2011
This initial phase consists of re-imaging approximately 6.92 million pages of poor quality existing digital records from 1989 to 2002 into high-quality digital images. The images are being re-imaged from archived microfilm. The age and category of documents represents many of the most requested documents held by the Clerk and Recorder.
Phase 2 - Completed May 2011
The second phase consists of converting recorded documents into about 850,000 document images from 16mm and 35mm microfilm dated from 1986-1988.
Phase 3 - Target start date summer 2011
During the third phase, 2.72 million images will be created by converting recorded documents on 35mm microfilm and hard copy index books dated from 1971-1985.
Phase 4 - Target date not yet scheduled
The fourth phase will create 2.3 million document images by converting recorded documents from 35mm microfilm and the corresponding hard copy index books dated from 1950-1970.
Phase 5a - Target start date not yet scheduled
The first part of the final phase will create more than 3.8 million document images by converting miscellaneous documents from 35mm and 16mm microfilm and the corresponding hard copy index books dated from 1859-1949.
Phase 5b - Target start date summer 2011
This phase of the project will convert about 290,000 marriage license documents on 35mm microfilm reels along with the corresponding hard copy index books dating from 1905-1970.