POUGHKEEPSIE — The Poughkeepsie City Chamberlain’s office has transformed nearly 150 years of city records by digitizing them with state grant support. Chamberlain Jamar Cummings said the Vital Records Digitization Project moved thousands of documents to a secure digital platform, streamlining access to records.

“For our office,” Cumming said, “it means we can retrieve certified records in seconds instead of manually searching through volumes, reducing wear and tear on irreplaceable documents and allowing staff to focus more on serving residents rather than handling paper.”  Touting additional benefits, Chamberlain Cummings said, “For residents, the impact is immediate and meaningful. It means faster turnaround times for birth, marriage, and death certificates, fewer delays during critical moments, and more reliable access to records people depend on for passports, school enrollment, benefits, genealogy, and family matters. This project is about protecting our history while delivering a higher level of service to the community today.”

The staff at the chamberlain’s office is pleased with the modernization.  “For 22 years, I’ve worked with these records in their physical form, turning pages, searching line by line, and carefully preserving each document. This transition to digital not only protects the integrity of those records, but it allows me to do my job more efficiently and focus more on helping residents rather than searching for information,” said Catherine Scivolette, Registrar of Vital Records.

Deputy Chamberlain Donna DeLuca said, “This transition has made a real difference for our team. It reduces the manual workload, minimizes the risk of error, and allows us to focus more on delivering timely service to residents instead of navigating through physical files.”
Requests are processed as usual, but with much faster turnaround. Submit record requests.
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