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USING MICROFORMS AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY -- BLOOMINGTON

IUB’s Microforms Collection includes a variety of materials, such as: newspapers, periodicals, archival materials, rare and out-of-print books, government publications, dissertations, and special collections. The New York Times, the London Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post,Indianapolis Star, Bloomington H-T, the Indiana Daily Studentand Pravdaare only a few of the newspapers in the collection. Historical periodicals include Harpers, Ladies Home Journal, and hundreds of others through the American Periodical Series.

While some campus libraries also hold micro-format materials, the main microform collection is housed on the 2nd floor of the IUB Main Library in GIMSS (Government Information, Microforms and Statistical Services). For instance the ERIC collection of materials in the field of Education is housed at the Education Library.

Staff is available all the hours that the Main Library Research Collections are open to assist you with the materials and the equipment. For more information or to ask a question please call 812-855-6924 or email: .

Most of the microform collections have been cataloged and records appear in IUCAT.

  • Browse TITLE for specific newspapers, periodicals, or series titles.

Example: Massachusetts Gazette, and the Boston Post-boy and advertiser

  • Search by keyword for newspapers of a specific place, use {752} to specify newspaper format.

Example: chicago{752}

  • Use Advanced Search techniques to narrow down by publication year or range of years.

Other sets and series come with reel guides that assist in locating specific documents within the set. Ask GIMSS staff for assistance with these if you have questions. The guides are all located on the Microforms Reference shelves (_mfref).

Microform Terminology, Equipment, and Use

Microformsis the generic term that refers to the formats: microcard, microfiche microfilm or microprint.

Microcard: Usually 3” x 5” opaque cards with micro-copies of pages. May be used on an Opaque Reader or on an ST200 scanning machine. Materials may be scanned, printed or saved in a digital format.

Microfiche: Photographic format of reduced images that is reproduced on a small 4" x 6" flat sheet of film. The microfiche collection at IUB is primarily housed using Library of Congress call numbers, which can be found through IUCAT or various guides to sets or series. IUB has several readers and reader/printer/scanners for use with microfiche.

Microfilm:Photographic format of reduced images that is reproduced on a roll of 35mm or 16mm film. Past issues of newspapers and many periodicals have been collected in microfilmfor space and preservation purposes. Microfilm is shelved in cabinets arranged by Library of Congress call numbers. See IUCAT for specific titles and call numbers. IUB has several readers and reader/printer/scanners for use with microfilm.

Microprint: Opaque sheets, usually 6” x 9”. May be used on an Opaque Reader or on an ST200 scanning machine. Materials may be scanned, printed or saved in a digital format.

Reader-Printers: While IUB Libraries provides some “readers”, most users prefer to use “reader-printers” in order to make print copies of the microform materials.

Costs: Reading – free Self-Service Printing – 15 cents per image (page); Staff printing – 25 cents per image(page); usually within 24 hours; Any order over 25 pages, staff will estimate turn-around time; Self-Service Scanning – Free; Staff scanning with prints 25 cents per image. Coin boxes REQUIRE dimes and nickels; charging to Campus Access cards or university accounts is possible. Inquire with staff.