"Our main function is to make it easier for the general public to search for things and to make their life easier," she said. "Convenience - that's what we're trying to do."

In the past year, Mrs. Baker has completed several major technology projects, with plans to do as much this year as her budget allows. A project completed last year at no cost to her office has won rave reviews from the legal community. An online case-management system now allows court and jail officials, attorneys, law enforcement officers and others to search court cases at least back to 2002 and see most records. Some records are not online, she noted, as to protect financial and other personal information. But, as all court records are open unless sealed by a judge, they still are available for review in person at her office at the Justice Center. The case-management system extends beyond the Justice Center as well, with the opening last year of the county's records retention center on Univeter Road.

Mrs. Baker has set up a scanning station there, so if an old file becomes active again - such as if someone who has been on probation since before 2002 violates that probation - a clerk from a desk at the retention center can scan the file into the system. The system, which Mrs. Baker said has been extremely popular since going online last year, saves her time and money as staff no longer need to pull as many files for in-person requests.

"It was so easy and simple to do and did not cost me a cent," she said, noting the online feature was offered to her at no extra cost by the case-management software system vendor.

Jennifer Davis, president of the Blue Ridge Bar Association, said the system has been a major improvement for courthouse efficiency.

"We get documents that are filed back quicker, and we also have online access to the system," she said, noting that reduces costs to the public as their attorneys do not have to travel to the courthouse to view and copy files. "That system has been incredibly helpful. I can't say enough good things about it."

The system may become even better this year, Mrs. Baker said, as the county may pilot new software. A company that created a more sophisticated system now in use in Florida has offered Mrs. Baker a copy for free if she helps design a Georgia version of it for them. That partnership, she said, could lead to the country receiving $400,000 in free software, but the deal is dependent on whether she likes the results.

"I want to make sure it's appropriate," she said, adding she already has talked about it with some judges, who are excited about the new reports the system could generate. Programmers will be meeting with her this month to begin the process.

Another major initiative started in the past year by Mrs. Baker is the FileTrail system. Mrs. Baker's staff now begins each case by putting a barcode and sensor on its folder. The sensor - "like LoJack for a car," Mrs. Baker said - can be read by a scanner gun like those used at store checkout counters. If a file is misplaced, a clerk can pass the gun over cabinets or desks, and an alert will sound when it's found.

Folders are passed over a sensor station whenever they leave her office, as is the clerk's ID badge. That way the computer system can keep track of where each file is at any time. Mrs. Baker said she hopes this year to begin installing sensors in doorways of various rooms of the courthouse, which also would record the file's whereabouts. Cherokee only is the second county in the state to begin using the system, with Chatham County signing up just a couple of months ahead of Mrs. Baker. Now, other counties are contacting her about it as a result of the success. So far, the system has cost $25,000, and while "not cheap," Mrs. Baker said it was worth the money.

"When you put it in a nutshell, we're the keepers of county's court and land records," she said. "If a files come up missing, whether it's my fault or not, it's my responsibility."

If the funding allows for it, Mrs. Baker this year also wants to install a $10,000 flat-screen electronic reader board. The JumboTron-like sign would post when and where different court proceedings were happening. This, she said, would eliminate the need for her staff to create paper calendars daily and post them throughout the courthouse. While the case file system has seen major upgrades, so has another much-used collection of information.

Last week, Mrs. Baker's staff completed scanning in the county's trade name books. Now, when someone wants to name their new business, instead of having to thumb through 12 books of existing names to avoid duplication, they can just enter it in an online database and run a search. Mrs. Baker, who last year was unopposed in her bid for a second four-year term, said technology is the future for court operations. As chairwoman of the technology committee for the State Superior Court Clerks' Association, Mrs. Baker said she attends every seminar and conference she can to stay up to date on innovations.

Improved efficiency is needed, she said, to keep up with a growing caseload and tightening budgets that prevent the addition of more staff. As an example, the superior court's civil cases soared to 4,551 last year from 3,874 in 2007. Last month alone, 429 cases were filed, with this year's projected count expected to reach 5,200. Its criminal cases also are on the rise: 2,954 were filed last year, up from 2,749 in 2007, with 148 already received this year.

"You have to stay open-minded about it," she said of technology. "The court system has really come into the 21st century."