It shall be the duty of each county clerk to receive and preserve every copy of the paper or papers so subscribed for and from time to time cause the same to be properly arranged and bound in volumes of convenient size and in a substantial manner, and said volumes, when bound, shall be kept in his office for the use of the courts, when needed, of strangers and the inhabitants of the county all of whom shall have access to the same at all times during office hours, free of charge. Provided, that in order to more permanently preserve and to make easily accessible valuable historical source material of state and local history, county clerks may upon the approval of the county commissioners make indefinite loans of the files of newspapers not in current demand, to libraries of state educational institutions, or to public libraries situated within the county. For his services in this behalf the county clerk shall receive the sum of ten dollars [($10.00)] for each volume, and for the neglect of the duties hereby imposed shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars [($50.00)], to be recovered with costs in a civil action before any court.

History: Laws 1889, ch. 49, § 2; C.L. 1897, § 769; Code 1915, § 1242; C.S. 1929, § 33-4308; Laws 1941, ch. 132, § 1; 1941 Comp., § 15-3709; 1953 Comp., § 15-39-9.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

The $10.00 fee provision of this section is unconstitutional as it is clearly in conflict with N.M. Const. art X, § 1, but other provisions of the section are fully effective. 1942 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 42-4199.

Newspapers maintained by county clerks may be microfilmed, so long as the microfilm is accessible to the public. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-16.

Microfilmed originals may be destroyed. — If microfilmed and certified pursuant to 14-3-15 NMSA 1978, originals of records, including newspapers kept by county clerks, may be destroyed without any action on the part of the records administrator. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 79-16.