Back when microfilm was an indispensable information technology, the Guelph Public Library relied heavily on it.
The information contained on the film is as important as ever, but it has become far too frustrating to access it with the obsolete equipment currently in place. One of three old scanners is now too broken to use.
Kirsten Bester, the library’s development officer, said vast quantities of information are stored on film and fiche. Newspapers and magazines, historical documents of all kinds, photographs and archival records, even marriage indexes, were condensed down to microfilm in decades past. All of it is relevant to the life of Guelph.
The storehouse of stories contained on microfilm is integral to Guelph’s heritage and culture, she said. But while accessing that information is more popular than ever, it is hardly as accessible as it could and should be.
The library is inching towards a $13,900 fundraising goal launched over a year ago to purchase the latest in microfilm technology, a
ST Viewscan III microfilm scanner/reader. The piece of equipment, Bester said, features a high-resolution camera that captures sharp images, and the technology has fast scanning capabilities to hasten research projects. It also has USB connectivity, allowing for vastly enhanced sharing on digital and web-based platforms.
The idea to launch a campaign to bring one of the leading-edge scanners to the library was motivated by an act of research frustration.
While scouring historical documents in preparation for his 2014 book Guelph Versifiers of the 19th Century, published by Vocamus Editions of Guelph, David J. Knight was vocal about how the current equipment for exploring important historical documents was underwhelming.
On the occasional of the launch of his book he concurrently launched the fundraising drive for the new scanner.
“He was using our outdated equipment and he thought the community would be much better served by updated equipment,” Bester said. “The new equipment will let people access these records and dig into this stories much more efficiently, and find these stories that are important for Guelph.”
She added that the demand for archival resources is growing, as is the desire to share those resources online.
“Even more people will be able to access them simultaneously, and for generations to come.”
The longer term vision is to have three of the new scanners as part of Guelph Public Library information technology. More of the machines means more research will be done.
To donate to the scanner campaign visit the library’s website at www.guelphpl.ca. Go to the donate tap. There are three options for making a donation, either through a secure site, by phone, or in person.
