The Use of Microfilm in the Research Library' ROSS C . ClBELLA Hall Laboratories, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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ICROPHOTOGRAPHY is not new. As far back as 1871, during the siege of Paris, Dagron made reductions of printed dispatches upon photographic film which were carried out of Paris by pigeons. In 1925, Watson Davis and Dr. Edwin Slosson investigated the application of microphotography to scientific literature (I). However, it was not until the middle 30's that it began to gain impetus. Today it has a role of great importance, because of both limited traveling facilities and the need for the dissemination of saentific information for the war effort. That microphotography has reached a stage of importance is evidenced by the number of publications on the subject, including a journal devoted almost entirely to microfilms (2). Small strips of microfilm can bring to the research worker that which heretofore was unobtainable. Rare books, theses, manuscripts, and now even enemy scientific publications are brought to the scientist a t a small cost. However, like the new compound in chemistry, this has not been put to its full use.
16-MM. FILM There are two sizes of microfilm in common use today, the 16-mm. and the 35-mm. Each can serve a definite -purpose in a research library. The 16-mm. film -
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I Presented before the Division of Chemical Education of the Ameriw Chemical Saciety, 106th meeting, Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, September 7. 1943.
is used wherever possible because of its smaller size and cost. This film can be used to reproduce items to which reference is infrequent. In a research library this type of film can be used for the preservation of valuable materials. As you look around your library you will see many items which cannot be readily replaced. The card catalog of your book and pamphlet collection could not be replaced without duplicating years of patient and careful work. In most cases, the library catalog represents a bibliography of the interests of your firm or laboratory. Even if the original books are destroyed by fire a copy of the catalog could be used for reordering. No amount of insurance can replace your catalog, but for a few cents protection and replacement can be assured by microfilming the entire catalog. Many laboratories house their research reports and laboratory notebooks in the library. Here are two items which can never be replaced without duplicating the work in the laboratory. Microfilm copies can be made of these valuable records and the film stored elsewhere in a safe place. At this point I might add a word of warning; examine microfilms carefully before filing. Mistakes are sometimes made by the operator, or the camera may be out of adjustment. Play safe. Orifinal manuscripts and rare books on chemistry are the cherished possessions of libraries and would be to replace. The microfilm copy would a t least preserve
the original handwriting of the author. Sixteenmillimeter film, because of its smaller size and cost, lends itself well to this method of insurance. The automatic camera which can photograph single sheets a t the rate of 60 to 70 per minute makes photographing a simple task. The average cost of microfilming in quantities a sheet 81/2"X 11" is less than one-tenth of one cent. Sixteen-millimeter film could also he used to preserve bibliographies, letter files, collections of papers in special arrangements, graphs and diagrams, and even discarded books which might be called for a t a later date. It is possible to type copies from a projection of this film or to make a projection print on photographic paper. Using a sheet 81/2uX 11" as an example, 2500 sheets could be photographed on a 100-foot roll of this size film. The space occupied by such a roll measures 4" X 4" X 1" in size, or 16 cubic inches. 3 5 . ~ FILM ~. Thirty-five-millimeter film can be substituted for all of the above-mentioned uses. It is true that the cost of this size film is much greater than the 16-mm. size, but i t has its advantages in affording greater magnifications. This type of film is commonly used in the scientific field. It is preferred where there would be frequent reference to the film. Periodical references, books, bibliographies, theses, translations, manuscripts, and other types of research material can be copied on this size film a t a very low cost. Papers and documents, which formerly required trips across the country, or even to Europe, can now be examined in your own library a t a fractionof the cost of the trip. Whether i t he a book or a short run of 10 or 15 pages, microfilms prove economical. In short runs the average charge per page is approximately three cents. In longer runs i t drops to as low as cent per page. BIBLIOGRAPHIES Every library, laboratory, or research worker sooner or later comes in contact with a bibliography. Whether i t be in the preparation or in the examination of the references, microfilms offer an economical and satisfactory means for assembling information in one place. Because of the widespread use of microfilms, copies of scientific papers can be ordered from practically all parts of the world. Without traveling outside your own office, copies of each item listed in a bibliography can be examined a t your convenience. It is possihle to splice each reference onto reels in an arrangement by author, subject, or chronology. Material such as appears in theses, laboratory reports, laboratory notes, and even manuscript copies of talks never published can be included to make the collection all inclusive. The cost of obtaining these microfilms is small.
sive. Microfilms here prove to be a boon. A 40- or 50-page article on microfilm could be ordered from, say, the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 50 cents. After it has served its purpose i t could be discarded or filed for future use. Microfilms, where available, have reduced the number of interlibrary loans, saving wear and tear on valuable reference hooks. AMERICAN DOCUMENTATION INSTITUTE
Some time ago, the American Documentation Institute announced that they would microfilm complete or partial sets of old journals such as Annalen der
Chemie, Biochemical Journal, Index Medicus, Journal of Physical Chemistry, etc., for an average charge of 3/4 of one cent per page. Here was an opportunity to obtain some of these sets on microfilm which are not readily available today in the original. The American Documentation Institute also offered its facilities to various scientific organizations. It proposed to act as a depository for the organization's papers. A document number could be assigned to tha,t paper to facilitate ordering microfilms or photoprints. This same organization has available microfilms of translations from Ori&tal countries, which can be purchased a t a very nominal cost. Unfortunately, the response to these services has not been very great. The learned scientist must also be educated to the benefits and economies of microfilms. Here in our own Society, there are presented each year hundreds of papers which are never printed in full. Such papers should be available to interested scholars without any personal expense to the author for typed reprints. Papers which for any reason are not printed in full could be abstracted in a subject journal with an A. D. I. order number. Those interested in the full paper could order a microfilm copy of the manuscript at a very small cost. Theses, lectures, talks, and other sources of knowledge could become available through microphotography.
PATENTS
Patents constitute an essential source of information in most industrial libraries. Patents are usually filed numerically by patent number. However, there usually is a great demand for patents by class number (subject). Very few libraries can afford the space and cost for keeping several sets of patents. Here again, microfilms can be used advantageously. The original file can be arranged by class and photographed; i t can then be rearranged by author or assignee and photographed. The original patents can then be re-filed numerically. With one set of patents a number of arrangements are possihle. Microfilms can also be utilized in copying patents which are not printed, such as those from Canada, Belgium, etc. File wrappers could also be duplicated by this inexpensive method.
REFERENCES
The occasional reference always presents a problem. It isn't important enough to justify a long trip, and duplication by ordinary methods would be too expen-
READING MACHINES
Unfortunately, microfilms cannot be read with the naked eye. Some means of magnification is necessary.
Although reading glasses and homemade projectors can be used for this purpose, there are on the market today a number of microfilm reading machines ranging in price from $32.50 to over $300. Some of these machimes will project a 35-mm. film to a size larger than a newspaper page. The more inexpensive machines will enlarge 12 diameters. Most reading mach'mes are designed to project film in either short strips or in 100-foot reels. An excellent series of articles appeared recently in which detailed information on reading machines and their construction was presented in a clear and concise manner (15). Before you purchase a reading machine, or even if you already own one, it is suggested that you read this series. FILING AND STORAGE
The number of methods of filing film is as many as there are collections. Some prefer to keep the film in the original container; others cut the film into strips approximately 6 inches long and file in cellophane or transparent envelopes (10). Others utilize small metal cannisters for the filing of short strips, and the 100-foot spools for longer lengths. Some combine the above methods for their own specific uses. In our own library each film is indexed as received and assigned a temporary classification number. This strip is then filed in a small, 1-inch cannister bearing this temporary number. When a sufficient number of DaDers are received on the same subject, the film is spliced Onto a 100-foot spool, alphabetically by author. The new index card contains the of the (7)' The can be filed in an ordinary vertical file, or a microfilm storage cabinet. Where humidity is rather low, it is suggested that a wet sponge or a humidifier be kept in the same cabinet (16). A
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M~ough have proved a the research worker they are not perfect. They offer an economical and space-saving method of reproducing the written word, but are not so easily read as the original. Filing methods have not as yet reached the
stage of standardization, so that each system is a makeshift one. The psychological drawback to the use of anything new will tend to keep the more conservative from making full use of microfilms. Dr. Watson Davis recently looked into the future when he wrote, "Miaofilms, popularized by V-mail, may carry a major burden of the world's speedy intelligence between far places, while the miniature photographic images will preserve and condense the astounding volume of the written record of our complex civilization, probably more of it than should be preserved" (14). BIBLIOGRAPHY
DAVIS,"Micro~hotographicduplication in the
service of science," "Microphotography for Libraries," American Library Association, Chicago, 1936, Vol. 1, pp. 47-52. AMERICANLIBRlnv AssocxA~roN,Journal of Documentary Refloduction, 1 (1938). RANEY,"Microphotography for Libraries," American Library Association, Chicago, 1936, Vol. 1. RANEY, ibid., 1937, Vol. 2. CIBELLA,compiler, "Directmy of Microfilm Sources, Including Photostat Service." Special Libraries Association, New York, 1941. FUSSLER, "Photographic Reproduction for Librsries," University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1942. CIBELU,Special Libraries, 30, 1603, 209 (1939). JAKES, Special Libraries, 30, 163-5 (1939). DICE,Science, 69, 3 9 4 0 (1939). GERO~LD, Library Journal, 62, 6 8 2 3 (1937). SEIDELL, Science, 89, 3 2 4 (1939). WRIGHT, Lzbrery Journal, 63, 530-2 (1938). TA,~B~, Journel of Documentary Refloduclion, 4, 150-7 (1541).
(14) Dnvrs, Scince Nevs L c t ~ r44,26-8 , (1943). (15) LITU~PELD AND BENNETT, Special Libraries, 34, 15-20. 45-50, 81-8, 12330. 157+4, 379-84 (1943). (16) SCRIBNER, "Summary report of research at the National Bureau of Standards on the stability and presavation of records on photographic film," Miscellaneous Publication M162, May 6. 1939. (17) SEIDELL, he application of microfilms to the cornpilation of scientific data," Congrb Mondial de la Documentation Univaselle." Paris, 1937, pp. 89-90. (18) BROWER, Journal of Documentary Refloduclion, 2, 56-8 (1939). (19) DANTON,a?.,1, 297-315 (1938); 2, 2 2 1 4 (1939). (20) SEIDELL S c m w 85,240-2 (1937). Jou1ml of Documenlary Re@duction, 4, 150-7 (21) TAUBER, (1941).
