Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of books, journals, pamphlets, government documents and other resources are located in the microfilm area located on the 2nd Floor of the Hekman Library and in the Meeter Center. Microforms can be in one of several formats: film, fiche, or ultrafiche. Each format is filed separately in the Microform Area. MicroFILM is on a reel. MicroFICHE is a small (usually 4x6) plastic card. ULTRAFICHE is also a small plastic card, but the individual pages on the card are very small, usually about a 1/4 inch.

Microform Collections

There are two methods for locating sources within these collections:

• WebCat: Search for microforms as you would search for a book. A search can be limited to only microforms by using the Advanced Search screen. Select MICROFORM in the Location box and then perform a normal search.
• Guides: Finder guides for some collections are located near the microforms. These paper indexes are usually organized by subject, title, or author.

Reading, Printing, and Scanning

Three types of machines are provided in the microforms area located on the second floor. If you need assistance, please ask at the Research Assistance desk.    

• Readers: All the machines allow the user to read microforms. 
• Printers: Two of the readers have printers attached. For a fee, a researcher can print what appears on the screen.  Ask at the librarian for assistance with printing.      
• Scanner: One reader creates an electronic copy (pdf) of what appears on the screen.(Guests should ask at the Research Assistance Desk for a username and password to log in to the computer attached to this reader/scanner.)