Last Friday Register Howe’s blog entry mentioned the project to make indexes available electronically. Many of the index books are in deplorable condition. Some have pages that are falling out, ripped or seriously faded. This has forced us to take those in bad condition off the "public" shelf . These indexes are in the copy department but kept readily available. This helps prevent the loss of pages and further wear. We have tried copying indexes and putting them in office style binders. This only works for a short time (a very short time). The books just get too much use for this solution. Professional rebinding is very expensive. In addition our experience with "sending books out" hasn’t been very good. Most of the books we have professionally rebound do not last long enough to justify the cost. The arrival of electronic indexes will obviously solve this problem and others.
Monday, August 30, 2004
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5 comments:
Sugar coat it any way you'd like - justify it however it makes you sleep better at night - but you are putting people out of jobs. Let's see how you'd feel if Gov. Romney found a means to justify doing away with your job for the economic benefit of the Commonwealth.
Sugar coat it any way you'd like - justify it however it makes you sleep better at night - but you are putting people out of jobs. Let's see how you'd feel if Gov. Romney found a means to justify doing away with your job for the economic benefit of the Commonwealth.
Change is inevitable, and the last comment posted is a rather sad and fearful notion that isn't entirely true. I have been an examiner for 20 years. I do about 80 percent of my work online. What the title examining profession in Massachusetts needs to understand is what the rest of the country has already had to understand is that you need to get a computer and a high speed internet connection. If you resist change then you truly will be out of work. Being bitter about the future is silly. The candle makers and the gas lamp lighters no doubt complained about the invention of the light bulb....but what would society be with out it....
Our company does a high volume of work via the internet. We are well aware of the benefits of technology in business and society in general. Technology as a tool an aide if you will - GREAT!!! I can't tell you how many times the microwave has provided dinner in enough time so that my family could enjoy after school activities, etc. Technology in this line of work has made our work more accurate and efficient to some degrees - thus making our company more marketable. HOWEVER, when technology replaces a majority of the services traditionally provided by "humans" - people lose jobs. Our company is well established and has worked with the technology presented - obvisously we have a computer and high speed internet connection or I would not be having this conversation with you. We will survive and evolve, I question though - how many employees we will have to let go b/c attorneys may look to cut corners by having in house paralegals and secretaries or even themselves perform the searches and/or recordings traditionally performed by title examiners. Not to go off in a different direction, but.... some grocery stores now have self-check-outs whereby you scan your own groceries and then pay either debit or credit. Fast and speedy for consumers, until you have an artichoke heart that just won't scan correctly... you press the "HELP" button and wait patiently 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 minutes for "HELP" as you watch Joe Smoe - who started the process at the same time in the next "human manned" line walk away with his groceries bagged- by yes - a "human". And how about Sally Smith the cashier who is now out of a job? Sure with proper training she could move up to management, but give her a break - she's just 17 and looking for a means to earn a little cash for college. Bitter -no- realistic- YES! The candle makers and lamp lighters reluctantly became electricians?
In response to Comment #1:
It is foolish to believe that technological advancements at the registries will ultimately lead to the demise of the title examining industry in Massachusetts. Attorneys will still rely upon examiners in certain circumstances even if they can perform a search in-house.
Ultimately, though, look at the current trend in the real estate market... Interest rates are rising and mortgage applications are down. The refinance boom is over. Purchases are up. What does this mean?... More 50 year title searches for *EXAMINERS* to perform. Even if every registry had a complete index (or at least, images of old books), attorneys would still farm out those types of searches. First, because they do not have the time. Second, becasue they do not have the expertise in most cases. Third, because the registry indicies are not reliable enough to perform the search in-house (and by that I mean on a computer). No attorney, excepting those with extensive prior experience examining titles, will rely on their own in-house search and issue an owner's title insurance policy. And even in the case of the experienced attorney/examiner, that individual will still visit the registry.
In sum, let us all rejoice that we do not conduct business in upstate New York where the current trend is leading to relying on title policies in lieu of performing full searches.
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