Preservation at the National Archives

Microfilming in the digital age
Even though we have high tech digitization equipment, the Reformatting section at NARA-St. Louis Preservation has continued to microfilm materials. One might wonder why filming continues when digitization is such a big part of NARA’s current and future operations. At first glance, low-tech microfilm seems outdated for the digital age, but given the particular characteristics of St. Louis’s holdings, it often remains the best method for preserving records and ensuring access well into the future.

An example is the multi-pay voucher (MPV) project that Preservation recently completed. In some cases pay vouchers are the only surviving documents that can verify service for benefit-seeking veterans whose military personnel files were destroyed in the 1973 fire. These records are also increasingly important for historical and genealogical researchers.

Before reformatting, they were rapidly being destroyed and disarranged due to constant use. The MPV project involved the microfilming of about 2,400 cubic feet of materials and took 10 years, but it has been a strategic success in terms of both access and long-term preservation.

Although scanning MPVs in high-resolution color would provide a higher level of graphic reproduction, NARA’s primary goal is the long-term preservation of the essential information contained in these documents. Silver halide film stored in appropriate conditions is a preservation standard with a life expectancy beyond 500 years.

Microfilm is an excellent intermediate format that you may easily digitize at any point in the future at minimal expense and effort. A reel of 1200-plus images can be digitized in a matter of minutes.

Stay tuned for more posts on what the Reformatting section in St. Louis Preservation is up to.