NORTHAMPTON - A longtime staffer in the Hampshire Registry of Deeds will take the top job there following the retirement Friday of Register Marianne Donohue.

Assistant Register Patricia A. Plaza, 70, of Westhampton, has been selected by Secretary of State William Galvin to take over the $90,000-per-year position for the remaining 15 months in Donohue's term. The Registry keeps records of all land transactions in Hampshire County, including sales, mortgages, foreclosures and liens.

Plaza will be sworn in at a public ceremony Monday at 8:30 a.m. at the registry office at 33 King St. Because the register of deeds is also an assistant recorder for the state Land Court, she'll have a second swearing-in Tuesday in Boston.

Donohue, 63, has held the job since 1989, and hired Plaza several months into her first term. "We've been together for 22 years," Plaza said.

Plaza said she's getting ready for retirement also, and doesn't plan to run in the November 2012 election, for which there are already three candidates. Plaza's new appointment ends Jan. 4, 2013, and until then Plaza said she'll be focused on customer service.

"We'll continue to serve the public and give them the same excellent service the staff has given them for 22 years," she said.

Plaza said she'll continue the process of digitizing historical records including proprietor books and atlases dating back to the late 1700s. She said the resources are especially popular with genealogists.

Donohue told the Gazette previously she was retiring because she had met her goals for the office. She said her retirement had nothing to do with a Gazette article in June questioning her residency.

She said she makes her home both in Northampton and West Springfield, which is part of Hampden County. She said she now plans to move to Florida to join her husband, Richard Green, a resident of that state.

Vying to become register in 2013 are Bonnie MacCracken of Amherst and Mary Olberding of Belchertown. MacCracken is a title examiner whose work brings her often to the Registry of Deeds. Olberding, a human resources professional, is a member of Belchertown's finance committee and a Democratic party activist, most recently volunteering in the election campaign of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.

George Zimmerman, treasurer for the city of Northampton, has also expressed interest in the register's office, but hasn't formally announced his candidacy.

James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.