College and Research Libraries CHARLES G. LA HOOD, JR. Microfilm for the Library of Congress In 1969 alone, the Library of Congress produced more than 11.3 mil- lion individual microfilm exposures on negative film. More than 5.6 million feet of positive print film were made from these and other negatives. Microfilming has been used to solve the need for storage space; to preserve newspapers and rare and fragile documents; to produce copies for outside orders; to conserve copyright records; and to acquire new materials for the Library collections. FOUNDED IN 1800 BY AN Acr OF CoN- GREss, the Library of Congress has grown from a few hundred volumes to more than 13 million books and pamph- lets, more than 19 million manuscripts, 165,000 bound volumes of newspapers, and many other materials. It has used microfilm to preserve public records since 1938, when its Photoduplication Service was established with a revolving fund grant from the Rockefeller Foun- dation. Many information storage and re- trieval techniques now common in the library sciences were initiated here to protect historical documents and also to provide quick access to researchers. Mi- crofilm also has been invaluable as a re- cording tool, duplicating rare manu- scripts .and documents that otherwise would have been unavailable. It also is used to preserve deteriorating materials and for the acquisition of new collec- tions. The Photoduplication Service now has 163 employees, with 78 of them working in microfilming operations. One of the largest of our microfilm- Charles G. La Hood, ]r. is chief, Photo- duplication Service, Library of Congress. ing projects is the preservation of news- paper records, begun in 1939 with the microfilming of The Washington Post, The Washington Star, and The Nation- al Intelligencer on 35mm roll microfilm. The program was extended in 1962 to the filming of newspaper volumes dat- ing back to 1870, when sulfide paper was first used for newsprint. As early as 1901, Allan B. Slausen, then chief of the Library of Congress Periodical Division, noted in his annual report to the Librarian of Congress: Wood pulp paper, upon which news- papers are now printed, disintegrates after a few years, when exposed to the light, and edges of bound volumes near the windows already begin to show that extra precautions must be taken if the files of newspapers are to last beyond one or at the most two decades. Slausen made suggestions for preserv- ing newspaper files, but microfilming, of course, was not even dreamed of at that point. Microfilming came at a propitious time, as the Library of Congress was ex- periencing an acute space problem in its newspaper collection. By 1949, just I 291 292 I College & Research Libraries • July 1973 one decade after the bound newspaper collection had been moved to the Li- brary Annex, the collection already had become so extensive, comprising over 140,000 volumes, that all available shelf space-approximately eighteen linear miles-was filled. With no other shelf space available, the stack area floor space was used for storage. With the collection growing at the rate of 3,000 bound volumes per year, there was a critical need for microfilm to mitigate the space problem, as well as to main- tain long-range preservation require- ments. By 1951, the Library had acquired 21,000 reels of positive microfilm from outside sources and from negatives filmed by photoreproduction. At this time, the library had 88 newspaper sub- scriptions for microfilm-56 domestic and 32 foreign titles. Newspaper titles received by the Library, however, ex- ceeded 1,000. By 1961, although the Li- brary subscribed to every available mi- crofilm of newspapers it wished to re- tain permanently, these accounted only for half the 1,200 domestic and foreign titles normally retained. The remaining 600 titles were bound for storage. In 1962, current and past newspaper files were transferred to microfilm. Of the 165,000 bound volumes of newspa- pers on file, approximately 25,000 were printed after 1870 on pulp paper. Many were in advanced stages of deteriora- tion. With time running out on many of these files, the goal of replacing all pulp paper with microfilm meant that all 125,000 volumes, averaging three inches in thickness-a total of 75 mil- lion pages-had to be committed to pos- itive microfilm from negatives already in existence and available from outside sources, or negatives to be produced by photoduplication. When a negative microfilm is avail- able, the Library acquires only a posi- tive print, after a cautious quality-con- trol procedure. Existing negatives often are .of uneven quality-usually, due to exposure of tightly-bound newspapers resulting in incomplete images, or sim- ply poor microfilming techniques. Nor- mally, the Library requires the supplier to furnish sample rolls of each file for quality-control testing before ordering, so that the pulp files are not destroyed pre~aturely. Since 1962, 25,000 bound volu~es have been replaced by micro- film pb$itives. At this writing, we have reached the approximate ·half-way point in the replacement program-50,000 volumes on film. Some problems in microfilming his- torical newspaper files are missing issues in a bound volume, as well as the hu- man errors made in cataloging the orig- inal files. Each volume must be checked for the shelflist record of missing pages and/ or issues, and for proper indexing. Any material missing from the file must then be secured. The volume is sent to the Government Printing Office bindery, where bindings are cut from the news- print, reducing the volume to a stack of loose pages held between the binding covers. Wrinkled or creased papers are sprayed with a fine water mist, stacked in a bookbinding press between sheets of plywood and placed under pressure for twenty-four hours. Any remaining creases or wrinkles are removed with a hand iron on the camera table. High- resolution planetary cameras, of which the Library has 24, are used to docu- ment the newspapers onto microfilm. All cameras are tested monthly with resolu- tion test charts and with periodic step tests to check proper light intensity lev- els. In addition, the lighting at various points in the copy plane is checked fre- quently and adjusted to provide even il- lumination of the image area. If one light bulb bums out, all are replaced to achieve more readily-balanced lighting. Negative microfilm exposed in the cameras is processed automatically in a custom-built machine capable of han- dling 100 feet of film a minute. After l ~ 1 j j ~ processing, the 1,000-foot rolls of film are broken into individual orders and reels by an inspector who simultaneous- ly makes a pre-editing check for scratched film, blurred images due to page movement, and camera troubles. This check allows correction to be made in cameras or processing as quickly as possible, minimizing the damage done- a necessary precaution when 7,000 feet of negative film is produced each day. Negative film passing the first inspec- tion is assigned to an editor who makes a frame-by-frame inspection to see that all pages were filmed and in proper or- der, the film images are properly aligned, the proper targets were used, and that each image is in focus, proper- ly lighted, and has good contrast. The background density of each frame is checked by eye, and an electronic densi- tometer is used to make a spot check every few feet along the film. Editing is done at specially-designed consoles with built-in light panels, re- winds, and specially-mounted heat-weld splicers. Loupes used to check negative film are padded to prevent film scratch- ing. Film readers also inspect newspaper microfilm. Each reader is equipped with glass flats that are pushed away from the film manually before the film is ad- vanced, giving positive protection against scratching. In the Library of Congress system, the original negative microfilm is used to make an intermediate negative print, from which release positive prints are made. The original negative is placed in p ermanent storage. In this process, the negative film is checked for varia- tions in density. If .a variation is noted, a notch is made in the edge of the film twelve inches before the variation oc- curs. The light values corresponding to the changes in density in the film are re- corded on a light strip that is used to set resistor bars on the control board of the printer. When the printer is operated, each Microfilm for the LC I 293 notch in the film negative activates an- other switch that varies the intensity of the light source in accordance with the values preset into the control panel. Variations in density in the negative are thus eliminated in printing, and the re- sulting intermediate negative print is of even better quality than the original negative. The light strip for each nega- tive roll is retained with the reel, so that if an .additional intermediate print is required, it, too, can be corrected auto- matically. From the intermediate film, positive prints are made for the library's read- ing rooms or for distribution to sub- scribers. The positives are checked after processing for printing or processing er- rors and spooled for storage. Completing the newspaper microfilm- ing operation, the master negatives are stored in the negative vault, where they are inspected frequently to ensure against damage. Then, and only then, are the subject newspaper files cleared for disposal. The microfilming of newspaper files has many advantages for the library and its users. Not only are the pages of newsprint captured permanently on film, but the space required to house the printed volumes is reduced drastically. And, from the user's viewpoint, a small reel of microfilm is much easier to han- dle and use than a fifteen-to-twenty- pound, three-inch thick, bound volume of print. The microfilm preservation program is not limited to newspapers. Irreplace- able reference works and other materi- als in a deteriorating condition are being microfilmed and then reproduced, either on full-size electrostatic prints or on positive microfilm. Presidential pa- pers-from Washington to Coolidge- are microfilmed to insure preservation, and also to make positive reproductions readily available without additional handling of the original document and the consequent possibility of damage. 294 I College & Research Libraries • July 1973 Since 1962, rare monographs have been put on microfilm, at the rate of 5,000 a year. Of the 13 million books in the library, at least 2 million have be- come brittle and fragile with age. A number of the microfilm cameras are equipped with a special book cr.adle to allow page-by-page filming. Once filmed, the book is withheld from the stacks and reference is made via a microfilm positive. Acquisition of library material is as important an application of our micro- filming equipment as is the preservation program. Recently, for example, a fine collection of material at St. Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai was added via 1,694 reels of microfilm shot on the site. At the same time, we added 1,000 reels of microfilmed materials on Jeru- salem. Microfilm also has become a favorite way for the library to acquire r.are ma- terials. The early records of the states- legislative records, statutory laws, court records, constitutional records, for ex- ample-are scattered throughout the land. Desiring this material for the Li- brary of Congress, the only recourse was to tr.avel to the various state capitals and microfilm the documents and manu- scripts. This was done, using a total 120,000 feet of microfilm, making this data available to library users. As our files of microfilm grow, they are playing an increasingly important role in what has become the largest li- brary copy service in the country. Any material in the library can be repro- duced-unless covered by a copyright- either photostatically, or by producing positive paper copies or positive film copies of microfilm. In 1969 alone, 88,000 requests covering 172,000 differ- ent items to be copied were received. Peripheral uses of microfilm at the Library of Congress include retention of library catalog cards .and Copyright Office records. The Copyright Office has nineteen different application forms , submitted by authors, composers, and publishers, which the office microfilms along with the original document to in- sure against loss. In addition, the copy- right card catalog containing records of the more than 11 million works that have been copyrighted-the list is ex- panded by about 300,000 items a year- is retained on microfilm. Microfilm is the Library of Congress' best protection against loss of original materials and valuable documents. Nev- er again will the Library of Congress b e wiped out of existence, as it was during the War of 1812, when the 3,000 vol- umes th.at constituted the entire Library were burned, along with the rest of Washington. j ~ 1 j