Reviews the use of microfilm as an acquisitions and preservation tool in academic libraries, and discusses how this use has fallen short of predictions that microfilm would revolutionize research methodology and scholarly productivity. This history is used to provide cautionary guidance in approaching the era of electronic documentation. (35…

Continuing disintegration of portions of research collections printed on unstable paper threatens the national capacity for productive scholarship. Effective solutions will require a heightened awareness of the fragility of the modern book and a coalition of scholars, university administrators, and librarians committed to cooperative action on a…

For a researcher with a serious interest in studying popular culture, the collective negligence of the entertainment industries, the scholarly community, and the government is a given, but some action to preserve American mass media artifacts can be undertaken. Contrary to the myth of unlimited access to information, certain regions of the public…

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)