Years take toll on town records

GROTON -- The air in the high-ceilinged vault inside Groton Town Hall, with its tattered parchments and venerable-looking volumes, is cool and odorless.

Sliding a tall, reddish book from one metal shelf, Town Clerk Onorina Maloney opened it, trailing her white-gloved hand delicately across its faded writing.

''See," she said, pointing at the page. ''Longley, Sawtell. It has all the old family names in town."

The volume is one of dozens of historic books in this vault, cataloging meeting minutes and vital records that date to the early 1600s. Unfortunately, Maloney explained, many of the books are falling apart.

''As time goes by, this will all fade away," she said, her hand grazing again over the book's worn, brown page.

Groton's plight is a common one for communities in the state. Town records, dating back to the Revolutionary War period and earlier, are often not being restored, because tight budgets don't allow it, said Linda Hutchenrider, a former president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks' Association.

Town clerks say the records play a key role in historical research and are most commonly used for genealogies.

''Towns have historically put [restoring old records] at the bottom of their capital wish lists, and it's extraordinarily important," Hutchenrider said. ''Either there is no money or the money is designated for other municipal purposes."

Older records deteriorate over time for a variety of reasons and at different rates, depending on temperature changes, fleas, or acidity, said Hutchenrider. Barnstable, the town where she presides as town clerk, has preserved many of the historical records in the town, using $1,000 in annual funds appropriated at Town Meeting.

The annual sum hasn't met all the town's needs, leaving Hutchenrider a little unsatisfied, however. She often jokes with other officials in her town that she may have to hold a yard sale to start meeting her goals for records preservation.

Other towns have been less fortunate. In Lexington, an annual fund for preserving historic town records dried up three years ago, and there's been no talk of reinstating the line item next fiscal year, said Town Clerk Donna Hooper.

Most of the oldest records, dating to the 1700s, have been preserved, but records from the 1800s still need to be addressed, she said.

Hooper hopes to preserve the records by copying their texts onto microfiche, a step other towns have also used to avoid the more costly restoration.

Microfiche costs between $300 and $400 per book, according to Maloney.

The solution has so far worked in Acton, said Town Clerk Eva Bowen, since the microfiche system prevents the documents from being handled when people come in to view the records. But Bowen said the town may have to begin restoring its records in a few decades, as their condition worsens due to air exposure.

''It's not a priority right in front of us," she said. ''But it's something we'll face down the line, since the vault is constantly being used."

Shirley has benefited from a number of archivists and historians who helped preserve the town's records at the turn of the 19th century, said retired town clerk Sylvia Shipton. Still, work needs to be done, she said, including a restoration project for vital records dating from between 1894 and 1942.

''The period used some terrible paper, which is very brittle," she said. ''We're OK, but not great."

In Groton, Maloney has used a local historical fund to preserve a few volumes. But, in the absence of any tax support, she's seeking money from the town's new Community Preservation Act fund.

Last fall, voters approved Groton's use of the state law, which allows the town to take advantage of state funding in exchange for setting aside taxes for historical preservation, conservation, and affordable housing. The committee, charged with advising voters on the use of the fund, has not made a decision on Maloney's proposal.

Lexington may adopt the preservation act next spring, Hooper said, but she's skeptical of getting the funding for restoring the town's records. ''Unfortunately, historical records aren't deemed the highest priority for CPA monies," she said.

However, Hutchenrider said some towns do see records preservation as a priority for preservation act funds. Nantucket recently approved drawing $300,000 from its fund to preserve its town records, she said. ''Some towns are choosing to use community preservation funds for record management," she said.

Maloney said that if her efforts to get such funding fail, she fears many records in town will be lost.

''There's a lot of history in this room," she said, looking reflectively around the vault. ''I'm concerned we're just going to lose [it], if we don't do something soon."