What would happen in your county if you took the books apart like this?
The perp had left the room with the sheets she was seeking.
In most of the counties I work, you don't ever see the books. Its either online or microfilm.
In rural Mississippi we have to copy deeds from the books. The photo you posted looks like something an attorney would do. Here, if you have more than one book taken apart, you get chastised by the clerk.
> In most of the counties I work, you don't ever see the books. Its either online or microfilm.
Some OK counties have their records online. This county doesn't even have a website.
Take away the carafe, water bottle, and coffee supplies and that picture could be straight out of the 1960s
Several urban counties in this region absolutely forbid any taking apart of the books. This ultimately ends up in nearly standing on the book on a copy machine to get the side closest to the binding to show up. These counties seem to have grouchy employees and surly patrons. The rural clerk's offices seem to have a more common sense approach and nicer folks all the way around.
It would depend on who the "perp" was. If you are known and trusted - "hey whatever you need, help yourself". If you are not both of the above, it is "tell us what you want, & we'll get it for you".
And that is a coffee pot, decanter, thermos or what? anywhere near the books or even in the same room? That wouldn't be allowed around here. Some clerks let you take the books apart to make a copy yourself, while others will not even allow you to think about taking one apart. Unless you are authorized by the clerk, none would let you take the pages out of the room.
Most of the counties I have visited in rural Colorado and Nebraska are about the same. One thing for sure out of all of them except maybe one,no food or drink allowed. Some will let you take the books apart after you show them how its done without damaging the binder and/or pages themselves. Heck, if you really want to, some will let you and others take the records out of the vault, out of the building, off the property, and bring them back in a few weeks after you have scanned or copied them. Piss the clerk off and then you are banished from being in the vault without an escort.
I think I could write a book about Deed Room Antics.
And cameras are so cheap!
> The perp had left the room with the sheets she was seeking.
You say "she"... so maybe "she" can be tracked down and prosecuted/chastised/publicly flogged.
If it is not it should be a crime!
(whoever is "in charge" of the deed room needs a flogging too)
Nothing. Local surveyors in my county are allowed to take the books apart and make their copies. Anderson County, Houston County, Shelby County and several others are this way. Freestone County lets you look at the book, then you give them a slip of paper with the volume and pages you want, and come back in hours and MAYBE they are ready for you.
In almost all of the counties I visit routinely it is standard practice to open the books and make our own copies then replace the pages and close the book. We never go further than the copy machine, which sometimes is in a nearby room. We would never take off with the original to go anywhere further than the copy machine. Some counties have a few books that have problems such that they are labeled to direct us to the office staff for copies. No problem.
The office staff needs some serious education on NOT having liquids in close proximity to valuable documents in this situation.
> In almost all of the counties I visit routinely it is standard practice to open the books and make our own copies then replace the pages and close the book. We never go further than the copy machine, which sometimes is in a nearby room. We would never take off with the original to go anywhere further than the copy machine. Some counties have a few books that have problems such that they are labeled to direct us to the office staff for copies. No problem.
>
> The office staff needs some serious education on NOT having liquids in close proximity to valuable documents in this situation.
Exactly the same in the counties that I work in, except there are copiers in every record room/vault. Drinks are allowed in some, or used to be, but nothing of that size. Maybe a closed water bottle. Until the early/mid 90's every tall, angled viewing table also had an ash tray... I'm REALLY glad those days are over.
Carl
I was once doing a survey in Corsicana, Texas and needed a copy of the original plat of the city. As Corsicana is the county seat of Navarro County, I of course headed to the court house, my conversation with the lady there went something like this:
Clerk: Good Morning sir, may I help you?
Me: Good Morning, yes I am looking for the original plat of the City of Corsicana.
Clerk: We have hundreds of plats, and they are all original!
Me: Yes Ma'am, I understand that, but I am looking for the original layout of the city.
Clerk: As I said they are all original plats!
Me, slightly frustrated: Ma'am, may I go back and search for what I need?
Clerk: Go ahead!
So I go back and begin my search, starting with their subdivision index. No luck! My assistant suggests that since it would be the original, why not try looking in Cabinet A, Slide 1? Good idea, and I pull said plat, which turned out to be a subdivision created in the 1950's, damn. But then I turn it over and there it is, a beautiful drawing on what I believed to be oil skin, dating from the mid 1800's!
I return to the clerk and ask if I can get a full size copy of the plat, but am informed that they do not have a large format copier, but that there is one in their GIS department across the street! She then pulls the plat out of it's sleeve, hands it to me, and points across the street! I, completely dumbfounded, head out of the courthouse with this priceless document, without leaving any form of ID, or even telling her my name, and head over to the GIS department. Once there, I meet a very nice lady and tell her this story. She also is astonished that I was able to walk out of the courthouse with the document, and in addition to making me a copy of the plat, made two for herself to keep in her records, and insisted on returning the original back to the clerk. I wish I had been a fly on the wall to see what she said to that clerk as she returned the plat.
I will bet it wouldn't work like that now. Dallas and Ennis have pushed development too far south.B-)
> > In almost all of the counties I visit routinely it is standard practice to open the books and make our own copies then replace the pages and close the book. We never go further than the copy machine, which sometimes is in a nearby room. We would never take off with the original to go anywhere further than the copy machine. Some counties have a few books that have problems such that they are labeled to direct us to the office staff for copies. No problem.
> >
> > The office staff needs some serious education on NOT having liquids in close proximity to valuable documents in this situation.
>
> Exactly the same in the counties that I work in, except there are copiers in every record room/vault. Drinks are allowed in some, or used to be, but nothing of that size. Maybe a closed water bottle. Until the early/mid 90's every tall, angled viewing table also had an ash tray... I'm REALLY glad those days are over.
>
> Carl
Yep, those smokers were really hard on the records. Turned them all yellow.B-)
Is some counties they don't care. In other counties the women have threatened to whoop me.
I do have to ask, did she leave the courthouse, or just the room?
> Yep, those smokers were really hard on the records. Turned them all yellow. B-)
Turned them all stinky too... (although it does make me a bit nostalgic at certain moments)
I have several file cabinets full of stinky records from my father also. :-/
Carl
I had the county clerk in a south Texas county call me and asked,
"You have scanned Deed Book 253. I had a land man take the whole
book." I said, "Yes, 900 pages." She asked, "Can you e-mail my daughter
a copy?" I replied, "I just sent it."
In Val Verde County, a title company would take the whole book to San Antonio to scan it
Surveyors would come into the office and asked, "Where is Deed Book 625?" The clerk said,
"In San Antonio, 175 miles away." The surveyor asks, "When is it coming back?" The clerk
said, "I don't know."