Important Reasons for Digitizing Microfilm
There are certain formats for information storage that have become somewhat obsolete in the recent past. While it is a good idea to move on from those old forms, it is equally important to make sure that the text and information stored on those things is retained and effectively transferred to new formats that will not be easily lost or damaged. That is why it is so important to get involved in digitizing microfilm. These filmstrips can get damaged very easily and take up a lot of space in their current formats, but they hold a lot of important statistics and information. These are just three of the many reasons that so many libraries are investing in systems that will allow them to transfer their stores of microfilm to digital formats.
The Filmstrips Are Easily Damaged
The biggest problem with trying to hang onto these old filmstrips is that they are very fragile. They can get cracked with very little pressure, and can lose a lot of their imaging if they are exposed to high levels of light. The laundry list of dangers that can potentially ruin these films is long, and this is one of the best reasons to invest in digitizing microfilm. Those digital formats take a lot less diligence and worry to take care of, and that is a welcome feat to those who have been paranoid about damaging their rolls of film. This also increases the access to these important pieces of information, and releases you from all risk associated with letting people view and use them.
There Is Important Information on Them
The reasons these fragile and hard to read things have been kept around for so long is because they hold some very important information in them. A lot of them hold Census information, newspaper negatives, and other such things that can be very helpful to people. The most common usage of these formats is from people trying to piece together genealogy reports. A lot of the needed dates and names are found in these films, and it is vital that those people are able to find that information. When they are changed to digital records, that information is much easier to spread and use, and will pose no danger at all to the hard copy.
They Take Up a Lot of Space
As far as information storage goes, microfilm is one of the bulkiest ones out there. Not only are the film strips themselves quite large but they also have to be viewed on large and noisy machines. When you invest in digitizing microfilm, you will be able to have all of that text and information without having to use up so much space. Digital information takes up hardly any space at all, especially if you plan to store the data on a remote server. If space is tight and you are tired of losing important information due to the fragility of this original format, then these are services that could be a huge help to you.
