Explores the meanings that have been attached to the term "archival" and concludes that librarians participating in the national preservation effort use this term to mean permanent. Permanence is practically defined as storage for upwards of 100 years. Given this definition, the merits of microforms and optical disks as archival storage materials…

The last three decades have shown a marked development in new technologies for storing and retrieving information: microform in the 1960s; online database in the 1970s, and CD-ROM in the 1980s. While microform lacks volatility and multiple access points, preservation programs find it to be ideal storage media: it has a longer life expectancy than…

Compares two approaches to document delivery and storage--microform and CD-ROM--in terms of storage capacity, accessibility, production, and cost considerations. Strengths and weaknesses of each medium are noted. It is concluded that libraries should select, integrate, and explore the different features of both technologies. (12 references) (MES)

Provides an overview of articles addressing the reproduction of library materials. Topics covered in the review include the use of microforms in libraries; bibliographic control of microforms; copyrights issues; micropublishing; preservation microfilming; technical production of microforms; and newer technologies, including optical data disks and…

Examines preservation literature from 1992 that focused on the integration of preservation strategies within the organization. Highlights include foreign preservation programs; collection development and preservation; government programs; deacidification; paper requirements; disaster recovery techniques; mutilation; microform issues; nonbook…

University Microfilms International (UMI) collects, creates, and preserves information from the fields of business, education, engineering, social science, and the popular media and makes it available in print and microform, as well as online, on CD-ROM, and on magnetic tape. The company also develops integrated information delivery systems. (KRN)

Considers the future of microforms by surveying the history of their use in libraries; reviewing the literature about them; and comparing them with electronic databases, full text delivery, and laser disks. It is concluded that microforms will continue to be the primary providers of significant but rarely used retrospective materials. (EM)

This bibliography lists 64 items on the topic of preservation of library materials that are held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library (NAL). The items include books, reports, periodicals, and audiovisual media. The bibliography was presented for NAL staff, who are responsible for the 2 million volumes of books,…

The rapid growth and distribution of scholarly research in the middle and late twentieth century, the limited supply of old books and other paper-based materials, and the deterioration of items printed on acidic paper since the mid-1800s have meant that many libraries lack suitable copies of printed sources that their users would like to read. For…

Explores the trends and current status of library use of microforms for the preservation and dissemination of research materials. A sampling of topics available on microform is provided, and a directory of the publishers mentioned is included. (CLB)

Discusses the need for user oriented optical storage systems to deal with information storage in offices, and describes the Megadoc system. The features described include hardware configurations, microcomputer applications, the ability to read microfilm or microfiche documents, equipment standards, and current systems software. (CLB)

Describes the micropublishing of Canadian government documents and surveys current micropublishers. A historical overview is provided; federal agencies whose materials are computerized are described, including Statistics Canada and Environment Canada; provincial efforts toward micropublishing are reviewed; and electronic media are discussed,…

The result of a comprehensive search for writings about the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) published between 1985 and 1988, this annotated bibliography lists 107 documents and journal articles about ERIC that were entered in the ERIC database during that period. The 1964-1978 edition cited 269 items. The 1979-1984 edition cited…

Introduces two microfilm collections, one on the Indian Wars of the 19th century and one on records of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and four CD-ROM references focusing on Amnesty International, multicultural America, Latin American studies, and North American Indians. (SLD)

Comparing 1994 and 1996, the eighth biennial survey of school libraries found median expenditures for books unchanged; audiovisuals, periodicals, microforms, and CD-ROM expenditures down; and software, local area network, and Internet expenditures up. The report also examines the extent of collaboration between library media specialists and…