MICROFORMS

Microform is the generic term for any material that has been reduced in size so small that it requires special optical equipment to view it. The most common form is microfilm, which is a roll of film. In this library we have also have some materials on microfiche, which is a small sheet of film. Microform was once a very innovative technology, but it is gradually, if incompletely, being replaced. As online and other electronic means of storage are increasingly being used by libraries, microforms are being retired. The Ithaca College will maintain microform collections as long as the material in them is not duplicated in an electronic format or as long as the machines necessary to read them are still functioning.

Microforms are located on the main floor of the library. Materials on microfilm, primarily newspapers and periodicals, are shelved in call number order in microfilm cabinets. The microcard and microfiche materials are filed in cabinets in the same area as the microfilm cabinets. They are mostly in call number order, but some of the special collections are housed separately.

Special equipment is necessary to read microforms. When you load the microform onto the reader, it magnifies the image to a size large enough for you to view it. Reader-printers are advanced machines that allow you both to read and to make photo images of the pages being displayed. The reader-printers in the Ithaca College Library work with both microfilm and microfiche.

Microfilm is a roll of film containing a series of frames or images much like a roll of film used in a camera. The materials found in microfilm in this library include newspapers, periodicals, and some monographs. Microfilm comes in standard widths of 16 mm and 35 mm, and can run 100 feet in length. In this library, newspapers and all microform materials older than about 1970 are found on the 35 mm width microfilm. Since 1970 the library has been purchasing most of its magazine and journal microform holdings on the 16 mm width microfilm.

Microfiche is a transparent sheet of film that contains a series of micro-images or frames arranged in a grid pattern. The most common fiche is a 4" x 6" sheet, which usually contains 60 to 100 pages. Ultrafiche is a form of microfiche which has greatly reduced images. A 3" x 5" sheet of ultrafiche may contain as many as 1,000 pages.

The materials found in microfiche in this library include government documents, and dissertations. There are two special collections that are found on fiche.

The University of Oregon Health, Physical Education and Recreation Microform Publications.

This collection of microcards and microfiche, started in 1949, is primarily doctoral dissertations and masters theses written in the fields of physical education, exercise physiology, recreation, health education, biomechanics, and sport psychology. The collection has its own index and is partially indexed by the card catalog.

 

 

Library of American Civilization (LAC).

LAC is a special historical collection that contains materials relating to all aspects of American life and literature from colonial times to the early 1900s. The collection has over 12,000 titles and over 20,000 volumes of materials and is housed in a 30 drawer file cabinet.