An Introduction to Research Processes

Back to Library Research

Most libraries have some of their resources available on microfilm or microfiche. This technology puts a large amount of printed material — for example, two weeks of the New York Times — on a durable strip of film that fits into a small box or on a set of plastic sheets the size of index cards. Machines are used to read microfilm or microfiche and in many cases full-sized copies of pages can be printed out.

In addition to newspapers and magazines, many libraries have other primary source material in microform format. For example, the American Culture Series reproduces books and pamphlets published between 1493 and 1875 and includes a good subject index. It is one tool for examining colonial-era religious tracts or nineteenth-century abolitionist pamphlets without having to travel to a museum or rare books collection. The American Women's Diaries collection reproduces diaries kept by women living in New England and the South and pioneer women traveling west and provides rare firsthand glimpses of the past.