I called the Shenandoah Co courthouse in Woodstock and spoke with Denise Barb today, July 21st. $1.00 (one dollar) from recording fees (deeds, etc.) is sent to LVA, put into a pool, and then distributed among the counties for archiving documents in courthouses. Twice a year, in March and September, grants are awarded to counties. A board meets to decide which counties get grants. Therefore, Shenandoah does NOT receive a grant each year because there is not enough money in the fund to provide for every county's archiving needs. The last grant received by Shen. Co. courthouse was for a 2 year period, Nov 1993 - Nov 1995. That grant was in the amount of $39,000. Out of this grant, salaries were paid to Linda Varney and her helpers. In order for LDS to archive the loose papers, they would need permission from the court and from LVA. Most of the records in the file drawers (those marked with a dot that is either blue or orange in color) have been microfilmed. They now need to be indexed. LVA is preparing a state-wide index that will be used for all counties. When a grant is given, all work must be paid for from that grant. Included is the vendor fee (the party doing the microfilming and Denise said she thinks LVA is now doing that); cost of shipping records to the vendor and shipping the records back to the courthouse; money to pay people like Varney and her helpers, retake film. Retake film: Four copies of each document are made. One copy goes to security at LVA. One copy is for public viewing at LVA. One copy goes to the courthouse. One copy goes to the county library which would be Edinburg Library for Shenandoah Co. Errors are made when microfilming records. Retakes have to be made so that the records can be indexed properly. If the bottom or top of a document was not filmed, then the document must be microfilmed again. Then, the index must show that the document is on another reel of microfilm. Remember, there are 4 copies of this document so that means a lot of extra indexing. The courthouse will gladly accept any donations made to Edinburg Library for the express purpose of microfilming the records. If you make a donation, you absolutely must let them know that your check is to be used for archiving the records in the Shenandoah Co courthouse. I forgot to ask if we can send checks to the courthouse itself. The number is 540-459-6150. You will need to speak to Denise Barb as she is the person I spoke with. Alley Blackford Shenandoah Co VAGenWeb [email protected]