Using Digitized Microfiche in Avery Library's Frank Lloyd Wright Collections: What is microfiche?

Microform, or micro-photography, has been used to reproduce images in a compact way since the 1920s. Microfiche is a type of microform in which the images are stored and used as flat sheets; microfilm is another type that is stored as a reel. They both require a special reader and display to light, magnify, scan, and/or print the content. Before digital imaging was used prevalently in libraries and archives, microform was a way to preserve and make available multiple copies of material, such as books, newspapers, and documents for consultation by researchers. 

Though institutions have transitioned away from creating new microforms, many repositories have legacy collections of microform from decades past. Using microform reproductions for research rather than consulting original materials can help preserve rare and fragile library and archival materials, and can enable users to consult material locally without traveling to see the originals. In some cases, microform may exist for materials whose original version has since been lost or damaged.

Left image: "Microfilm Reader: Woman using old microfilm reading machine in the periodicals room of Butler Library." Historical Photograph Collection, University Archives, Columbia University. Columbia Digital Library Collections.

Right image: Microfiche sheet from the Avery Library archival collection: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives : correspondence, 1885 - 1965.

Image: The microfiche reader in the Avery Library Drawings & Archives department's reading room. Prior to digitization of the Frank Lloyd Wright correspondence microfiche collection, this was the method of accessing the material.