Tisch Talks: Microforms and Current Periodicals

Production Date: (March 16, 2009)

Let me introduce myself to you.  I am Carol Ellis and I coordinate the activities associated with the Tisch Library Microforms/Current Periodicals and Reference Desks. The physical layout of the area, located to the rear of the main entrance level of the library, includes not only the microforms and current periodicals collections themselves, but also a variety of seating and study areas to suit all needs.  Quiet study space is located along both sides of the Microforms/Current Periodicals Department.  Along the side of the building where the Current Periodicals are housed, quiet study tables with views of College Avenue and Professors Row are surrounded by natural light.  In the middle of the department, there are comfy chairs that around a table that holds the current day’s most popular newspapers, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe.

Microforms, although sometimes overlooked, provide excellent additional academic resources. They are preserved pieces of time that provide full text, photos, drawings, graphs, and advertisements.  I will provide you with some basic information about microforms and periodicals that will make your next visit go more smoothly.

Tisch Library has an extensive microform collection.  The microform collection includes a variety of material such as back issues of major newspapers and periodicals, U.S. Government Documents and special subject collections.  Self-service scanner-printers are located in the microforms area.  Copies of materials are $.10 per page.  Users may save search results to floppy disk, USB storage device, or e-mail as an attachment to a Trumpeter account.  These free options allow patrons to save material for future reference while conserving resources and eliminating printing expense.  Microforms are not available to be checked out of the library.  Microforms Assistants offer guidance in using the equipment during the Microform Desk’s hours which coincide with the Reference Desk hours and are posted on our library website for your convenience.

You can find the complete microform collection on the Microforms and Current Periodicals web page with links to the microform collection by title and subject. The microform collection lists are also available in print at the Microforms/Current Periodicals Service Desk for you to view.  Although most microforms can be searched by title in the online catalog, there are some exceptions.   An example of one exception is that the U.S. Government Documents cannot be searched by individual titles.

At the Microforms/Current Periodicals Service Desk there is a map to guide you to the appropriate microform location.  Microforms are stamped with an “MFF” for microfiche or “MFR” for micro reel.  In addition to the MFR or MFF stamp, each individual microform within the collection has a specific catalog number or date stamped directly on the fiche or reel box. For ease of retrieving, fiche and reels are each assigned their own section within the collection.

Most microforms are categorized by date or number; there are exceptions, however…  When you need to find an article in a microform, your first step will be to look up the title, date, and in some instances, the number and other identifying information in the catalog. Each microform fiche or reel has a large number of articles within it.  The information within the microform is usually arranged by date or volume and number.  This information is necessary in order to find the particular article you are looking for in microform.  Let’s take one example.  To find an article in the New York Times microforms, your first step is to go to the online catalog and search articles via databases.  Then you would select the New York Times (1852-2005) database.  Once you are in the database, you define your search.  For my example, I defined my search using: Election, President, and Gaynor with the dates 01/01/1906 – 06/01/1906.  Looking through my results I found the title of the article that I want to look up in the New York microform collection.  The title is “Take Office in Brooklyn: Justice Gaynor Officiates at the Inaugural”, the date, January 2, 1906, page 4.  Now I have the information I need to look up the article in the New York Times microform.  The microform will also show other news for that day and time period.

Currently featured in the midst of the department is the U.S. Presidential Elections Microform Exhibit.  It showcases the front pages of the New York Times after the United States presidential elections, arranged in chronological order beginning from the 33rd president, Woodrow Wilson, in 1916 to the 55th president, George W. Bush, in 2004.  This display illustrates the evolution of the U.S. presidential race through the century.  The newspaper selections were obtained from microform MFR1, which is a comprehensive collection of the New York Times newspaper from 1851 to present.  Tisch Microforms/Current Periodicals Department is proud to house these essential archives. Our next exhibit in the spring will showcase The Papers of Bernard Shaw from 1856-1950.  This is a newly acquired microform to our collection.  A new microform exhibit is displayed twice a year.

Remember, student assistants are available to help you during desk hours.  They can answer any current periodicals or microform questions, show you how to use the microform machines/printers and do troubleshooting for them when necessary.

The Tisch Library link to view the Microforms and Current Periodicals web page and collection links is: http://www.library.tufts.edu/tisch/microforms.htm


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