In a message dated 4/24/99 10:50:48 AM, [email protected] This was originally posted to the Morris Co. list. Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 22:00:20 -0700 From: "John Cresseveur" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Subject: [NJMORRIS-L] Search Fee Increase - N.J. State Archives Hi Folks, I recently submitted a search to the New Jersey Archives. P.O. Box 307, 185 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08625-0307. Included in their response was the following notice as to the increase in search rates: "As part of a long-term preservation strategy at the State Archives, effective March 1, 1999, the basic fee for searching vital records - for the period May, 1848, to May, 1878 only - will be raised from $4.00 to $10.00 per record searched. The fee will cover a search of up to five (5) consecutive years for each requested record. Each additional block of five consecutive years searched at the same time will cost another $10.00. All funds raised from the increased fee will be designated exclusively for preserving and re-microfilming the vital records in the State Archives. Currently, the original volumes must be handled for each search because most of the existing microfilm copies are partly illegible. With thousands of searches done annually, these heavy, oversize volumes have already deteriorated significantly over the past thirty years. The bindings are loose or broken, and thousands of pages are ragged and torn. Professional conservators charge up to $3,000 per volume to disband, deacidify, and mend them; the microfilming will cost an additional $1,000 each. Due to the size of the vital records collection (100+ volumes) and the high cost of preservation, the State Archives expects that this will be a long-term project, taking up to a decade to complete. While we regret the necessity of raising the search fee for these popular records, we firmly believe it will be an effective, timely and equitable way to prevent the disintegration and loss on one of New Jersey's most important historical and genealogical resources. If you have questions or concerns about this policy, please contact Archives reference services at (609) 292-6265." John Cresseveur