By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The Barton County Register of Deeds office is going online. Researchers have long made treks, oftentimes across state lines, to pore through books in search of deeds, mortgages, oil and gas leases, oil and gas assignments, and releases of mortgages. Register of Deeds Glennda French said those records may now be searched online.
"I thought it would be a great asset to our office," she said. "There are those people who drive from out of state to come and do research. It makes it easier for them. The researchers here in town, the abstract companies, they're very busy people, too. Sometimes research takes time. If they have to leave their office to come to ours to do that, that takes away from their time at their office."
It took between three and four months for programmers to get the records searchable online. There is a fee to use the service, which allows for searches by name, legal description, or book and page number. For $25, researchers get access for 24 hours and have to pay a dollar for each copy made. An annual fee of $800 allows for unlimited searches and free copies.
"A lot of researchers like that so they don't have to come into the office or drive here from Oklahoma for a day," French said. "They can just stay where they're at and search from their own office."
The deeds office is also in the process of setting up a records notification system. French hopes that will be available within the next month. Residents can provide the office their name, address, and an email address, and they will be notified if anything is recorded in the office using that name or property.
"Some people were a little bit leery about our records being online and being accessible to everyone," said French. "I think this is a good way to combat those feelings so people feel comfortable. They don't have to worry if someone is going to take their property from them."
With the current system, there is no way for the office to track which records are accessed through in-person visits at the office.