Microforms Collection Development Policy

The Collection

The vast amount of information contained in this collection is stored on 35mm and 16mm microfilm, microfiche, microcard, and microprint.  Reading machines, which will accommodate each of these formats, are available in room 024.  This room remains open all hours the Library is open, and patrons may utilize this facility without the Microforms staff being in attendance.  Paper copies of articles on microfiche or microfilm may be obtained by utilizing reader/printers that are located in room 025 @ 10 cents per page.  Each reader/printer is equipped with a coin box, which will accept dimes and nickels, and a Copicard machine.  A separate Indus reader/printer will produce paper copies of microcard and microprint, but routes the copies to the public printer on the 1st floor.  All of the machines in this room are monitored by the Microforms staff.

Acquisition

      Microform documents, with the exception of microcard and microprint, are obtained almost totally through vendors such as ProQuest, Newsbank, and Primary Source Microfilm.  No filming is done in the department.  Microcard and microprint,  being the oldest of the microformats and which date back to the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, are no longer produced. These two formats are retained primarily due to archival value, and in certain cases because the cost of conversion to microfiche or microfilm is prohibitive.

      The Dept. of Microforms strongly endorses the policy of purchasing or acquiring microfilm or microfiche collections accompanied by substantive indexing or at the very least a "guide" that delineates the contents of the collection through the utilization of reel numbers (in the case of microfilm) or a system of acquisition numbers (microfiche).  Emphasis is also extended to the purchasing or acquiring of "complete sets" or at least a sizeable portion of a series to constitute a viable collection.  This policy extends to not only collections purchased by the University, but also collections received as gifts or donations, and is designed to preclude the acquiring of "bits and pieces" of microform material that have no particular value with regard to future reference work.

Preservation:

      Preservation and archival quality of microform materials varies according to the type of film or fiche being utilized.  Due to the disparity in the actual filming and the quality of materials used by various vendors, certain guidelines are necessary before microfilm and microfiche are purchased.

      The Dept. of Microforms discourages the purchasing of microforms filmed on "vesicular" or to a lesser degree "diazo" film or fiche.  "Silver halide" is to be purchased whenever possible, with particular emphasis on newspaper collections, both current and historical.  A silver halide microfilm has a putative archival longevity of over one hundred years --if properly stored and if protected from heat and dust.

      Due to building space limitations, the quality and size of storage cabinets have become important considerations with regard to the preservation of microform materials.  The Dept. of Microforms maintains a policy that requires the purchase of no less than nine-drawer fiche cabinets and eleven-drawer microfilm cabinets.  The cabinets are to be of sufficient quality (Russ Bassett preferred) as to allow for individual drawers to be shifted according to demand and individual cabinets capable of being moved ("shifted") to different locations, depending on the growth of particular portions of the collection.  Due to the large number of keys involved, locks are no longer requested when purchasing microform cabinets.