Lubbock County Courts working to improve document storage practices

Preserving documents can be critical for many organizations. This is especially the case for bodies that store data that is both historically and legally important. The Lubbock County Courts are an example of this need.

According to a recent Fox34 News report, the Lubbock County Courts in Texas are planning to completely revitalize their document storage solution to preserve the files they already have on record and those they generate over time. The news source said the courts have documents dating back to the county's earliest days, but have also lost many files due to wear and tear. The courts want to avoid any further data loss and preserve history for as long as possible.

David Slayton, administrator for the county, told the news source securing records can be a daunting task. Currently, the court's oldest documents data back as far as 1892, when the county was just a small outpost in the frontier. Slayton explained a large number of legally and historically relevant documents are archived at the courthouse.

"There are millions of documents that have been generated by this county over the years, storage and preservation is a huge undertaking. Many of these places across the state didn't have a way to properly preserve these records. They were literally disappearing. The ink off the paper was disappearing and they were falling apart," Slayton told the news source.

He added that most of the documents were not stored properly. The location where they were archived was liable to water damage when it rained. The records also faced significant variances in temperature. This left documents susceptible to shock when they underwent excessive shifts in the room's temperature in a short period of time. These issues combined with a lack of humidity controls to leave documents at serious risk.

The county is now working on plans to improve the quality of storage by moving records to a different facility.

Tony Privett, chairman of the Lubbock County Historical Commission, said finding a way to preserve these files is critical, not only for historical posterity, but also to support the county's average citizen, the news source reported. Once a document that goes through the courts has been used, it gets filed among the archives. This means that old home titles and records are also in county storage. As a result, any citizen attempting to buy an older house depends on the accuracy and availability of those records. This creates an environment where proper records management is critical for a diverse range of purposes.

The report said managing the quantity of documents that the court handles is a major challenging that can prove daunting for almost any business. Therefore, it is critical to emphasize the importance of record management and document storage to keep files safe and secure.

Finding a secure and reliable way to store documents for an extended period of time can be critical for businesses. In many cases, the easiest way to overcome the challenges associated with the process is to outsource to a records management provider. This can help companies reduce the capital spending needed to obtain the realty space needed to store documents and equip it with the climate controls, security features and fire suppression systems needed to handle file storage. Furthermore, it can ease compliance concerns by placing the documents in the hands of experts trained specifically to meet a business' storage needs.