Diocese of Madison

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Sacramental Register Digitization

- Sacramental Register Digitization
  
  Diocesan Archives
  
  The archives office of the Diocese of Madison is currently working to digitize all the Sacramental registers held at pastorates/parishes throughout the diocese. We are ready to begin working with the registers in the churches of your pastorate/parish.
  How the Process Works and FAQs Prepare Your Registers for Digitzation
  Send Register Information for Digitization
- Contact Us
  
  Rev. Michael Radowicz
  
  Pastor - Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Madison; Presbyteral Advisor to the Office of the Permanent Diaconate; Assistant to the Office of the Chancellor
  
  (608) 821-3140
  archivesmadisondiocese.org
How Does the Process Work?
- The archives office will coordinate with the appropriate staff for a time to come onsite and collect the registers. The registers will then be taken back to the archives office for digitization. You’ll be without your registers for approximately four to five weeks. When the registers are completed, a digitization report will be sent to the pastor / parochial administrator along with instructions to access the digital repositories. The archives office will come onsite a second time and deliver the scanned registers back to you.
- What about registers that are in poor condition?
  In order to preserve registers in poor condition, Bishop Hying has requested that these registers remain here in the archives office where they can be stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled room to prevent further deterioration. The following are used to determine the overall health of a Sacramental register:
  
  Condition of the spine (is it intact or broken?)
  
  Page integrity (are all the pages in the register of their own accord, or are sections of pages beginning to fall out? Are pages taped into the register? Are the pages beginning to disintegrate, or are they in good condition?
  
  Page condition (is the writing on the page beginning to fade away, or can the writing be easily seen?)
  
  Overall condition of the register
  
  The archives office will make a determination if a register is in poor condition and needs to be retained here at the archives office. You will be given a full list of registers that have been transferred so you can keep track of which registers the archives office is holding. Remember, these registers can still be accessed in a digital format.
- The scanning process
  Each register will be scanned using a large, open book-type scanner to minimize damage or excessive bending of the spine. Each register will be given an accession barcode to easily identify it in the archives office database.
- How will the scanning be updated?
  Right now, the primary focus is to get all church registers digitized, and for new parishes, the new registers that have begun. The archives office will mark in its database the registers that are currently in use, and they will be digitized again using a schedule that will be determined at a later date.
- What happens if I receive a notification for a register held at the archives office?
  If you receive a notification that needs to be recorded in a register that is currently being held at the archives office, please scan the notification and send to [email protected]. The archives office will make the entry in the register and will also update the digitized scan to reflect the information contained in the notification.
- What registers are you scanning?
  The archives office will be scanning Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and Death registers. Some registers are “combined” registers that have all these items in one book. In that case, the register will be scanned and sub-divided by Sacrament/event.
- What happens if I need a certificate while you have my registers?
  If information is needed from a register for a certificate that needs to be made, please send an email to [email protected] with the person’s information, and the office will locate the record for you and send the information back to you so you can create the certificate.
- What should I do if I need to enter information in a register that's currently at the archives office?
  Create a folder / file for each register, and save the needed documents/information you need to record in the respective folder. You can enter the information when the register is returned to you. If there is an urgent need and information needs to be entered immediately, please send an email to [email protected] and we’ll enter the information into the record for you.
  
  We are here to help you through this process, and can be of assistance to you if anything is needed from the registers during their time here in the office. We’ll do our very best to return your registers to you as quickly as possible.
Preparing Your Registers for Digitization
- There are two tracks to prepare your registers for digitization:
  
  Track I: Pastorates that have not yet been merged into a new parish
  You’ll have registers (old and current) from each of the churches in your pastorate.
  
  Track II: Parishes that have already been merged
  You’ll have old registers from the churches in your parish, and you’ll also have a new set of registers for the newly merged parish.
- Instructions
  1. Go through every register that you have, and in the opening pages, there is a place to write the name of the church or the newly merged parish. Please make sure that the name of the church / parish is clearly written on the opening pages of the register.
  
  2. Page through each of your registers. There should be no loose documents in the registers themselves. Many times, you’ll find notifications that are inserted loosely in the book as the record to be updated is on that page. If you find these notifications, please make sure that the information has been added to the register. The notification can then be thrown away.
  
  3. If you have other documents in the registers, create a manilla file for each of the registers and place them in that folder. On the document, write the page number where you found the document. This file should be permanently stored with the register.
  
  4. Please make sure your entries are up-to-date. If you have information to enter, please enter it before the scheduled pick-up time.
Sending Register Information for Digitization
- For every register you have in your possession, please fill out the following form. The form data will be transmitted to our office, and the office will know from this information how many registers you have. If you have questions about your registers or completing the forms, please reach out to the office for assistance.
- This form is not accepting responses at this time.
  
  Name of the Pastorate/Parish REQUIRED Please fill out this field. Please enter valid data.
  
  Name of the Church REQUIRED
  For merged parishes, type the former church names for your old registers. For the new set of registers created at the time of the merger, type the parish’s new name here
  Please fill out this field. Please enter valid data.
  
  Where (church location) is the register physically kept? REQUIRED Please fill out this field. Please enter valid data.
  
  Type of Register REQUIRED Baptism Confirmation First Communion Death Please fill out this field.
  
  Is this a stand-alone register or is this a combined register? REQUIRED
  Stand-alone registers record the same item; Combined registers have multiple items
  Stand-alone Register Combined Register Please fill out this field.
  
  What is the year of the first entry in the register? REQUIRED Please fill out this field. Please enter valid data.
  
  What is the year of the last entry in the register? (If this is a current register that you're making entries in, type "Current" in the box) REQUIRED Please fill out this field. Please enter valid data.
  
  Once a form for all the registers you have has been submitted, the office will reach out to the proper contact person to arrange a time for pickup.
  
  Submit
  
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Questions?
- For questions, please contact the Diocesan Archives at 608-821-3140 or [email protected]

Sacramental Register Digitization

Track I: Pastorates that have not yet been merged into a new parish

Track II: Parishes that have already been merged

Instructions

For questions, please contact the Diocesan Archives at 608-821-3140 or [email protected]