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about preserving newspapers



I have read many of our states newspaper microfilms cover-to-cover up to
1900.  Many of the films are out of focus, or the shadow caused by the
binding's gutter obscures half the local news column.  Some are practically
illegible.  They are filmed with little care by bored worker bees who no
doubt hope to have found a better job before anyone checks up on their work
(never???)

In other cases, the original microfilms (and negatives) of the newspaper are
lost, and I know this because I have looked for them and in some cases found
them.

For obtaining high quality reproductions, the microfilms are inadequate.
The best result I can obtain is by putting the microfilm in a Leitz focomat
and enlarging an 8x10 print of the article or advertisement.  This is barely
passable at best.  I believe that there is an increasing trend among book
publishers to show photographic copies of old newspaper texts when they are
being quoted.  In preparing a book I am working on now, I have located only
some of the actual papers that I need.  I make my copies with a view camera
using 4x5" color transparency film (which will then be drum scanned.)  This
will become more and more prevalent as book publishing gets better, more
competitive, and less expensive to print.

I personally preserve thousands of early Oregon newspapers discarded by the
Bancroft library after microfilming.

Institutions needing to discard old newspapers should at least put them up
for auction on ebay, in addition to making some good $$$ they will find a
home where someone will appreciate them, rather than consider them a
nuisance in the vault.

And this goes for institutions with surplus or duplicate microfilm. One
university had a newspaper microfilm garage sale on the net, and did quite
well.  I paid $25 per roll.

--
Thomas Robinson
441 NE Jarrett
Portland OR 97211-3126

visit my website at
www.HistoricPhotoArchive.com

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