California's Microfilm Program for Vital Statistics Records

Abstract

THE BUREAU of records and st,atistics of the California State Department of Public Health as a, pafit of its functions directs the statewide registration of births, deaths, and marriages and provides service to the departmeint aniid to the public with respect to these records. The statewide registration of vital events began July 1, 1905, and in the 54 years since, more than 141/2 million records have, been registered with the department. Approximately 600,000 additionial records will be registered during 1960. Two serious problems developed: we were beinig crowded out of our office by the slheer volume of records, and the older records which received greater use began to wear out. An examination of these two problems, begun in 1947, develope,d into a survey by the department and the management analysis seetioIn of the State department of finance (1,2). Assistance was also riequested and received f om many different sources. Several possible solutions were explored. The traditional solution to crowding is to provide more space for storage and continue the accumulation of paper records. This practice wa.s judged to be wasteful and shortsighte,d and in no way contributed to a solution of the second problem. Review of the second difficulty, records wearing out from prolonged use, indicated that some substitute was needed for the original record. The use of microfilm, in lieu of the originial record, appeared to have some advantages; it was a well-developed product enjoying wide use and acceptance, and it was relatively inexpensive. Further research revealed that under satisfactory storage conditions it was long lived. Microfilm appeared to be a possible solution to both problems. A first important step was taken in 1948-49, when considerable effort wa,s expended in tlle rehabilitation and transfer of all certificates to better filing equipment, in which the certificates are not bound. A State file number was stamped onall certificates. This, number became an integral part of the indexing systemn, which is necessary to locate records.,or corresponding microfilm. The State file number is assigned as a consecutive serial number,, 000001 through n, for each type of record within each year of occurrence of event. The two digits representing the year of event alre a part of the, State file number aand precede the sixdigit serial number. Several questions remained to be decided about the use of microfilm. What size film would be used? Whalt reduction r'atio wvas Mr. Shipley has been chief, bureau of records and statistics, California State Department of Public Health, during the 101/2 years when the system described in the paper was developed. Mr. Fuller is administrative analyst with the California State Department of Finance and was formerly associate public health analyst in charge of the vital records section of the bureau. Mr. Shipley presented California's Microfilm Program before the methodology working group at the seventh national meeting of the Public Health Conference on Records and Statistics held in Washington, D.C., March 24-28,1958. The methodology working group voted unanimously to publish his report. The paper is, in substance, based on Methodology Bulletin No. 8 of the Public Health Conference on Records and Statistics.