Seth, there's no such thing as a "non-scratching" microfilm reader or
reader-printer, so you are risking some damage to the microfilm if you
follow this advice (sorry, Sharon--nothing personal).

Normally, I would expect properly-produced microfilm to include
descriptive information at the beginning of the roll. You should contact
a local conversion service bureau with microfilming experience and
facilities, such as Micro Products International for help (800-916-4276
or [log in to unmask] basing this on your area code). this type
of service bureau can examine your microfilm without damaging it, and
eventually convert it to another format if you want.

You probably do NOT want to do your own microfilm-to-electronic image
conversion. It's not as simple as some would have you
believe--especially if you have to play with the scanner settings and/or
perform a fair amount of image processing to get good images.

Good luck, and

Best regards.

Fred
===================================================================
Frederic J. Grevin
Deputy Commissioner and Chief Information Officer
The City of New York,
Department of Records
Email: [log in to unmask]
Land phone: 212.788.8615
Cell phone: 347.436.5360
Fax:  212.788.8614
www.nyc.gov/records
31 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007
USA

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 11:12
Subject: Re: [RM] Deteriorating Microfilm Reels

Seth,
I have a handful of 35mm rolls of mf which hold permenant records and
for which I don't have appropriate equipment. The only time I needed to
look through a couple of the rolls, I walked across the street to my
local library and used one of their machines.  Maybe you're that lucky,
too?

Sharon G. Blackstock, CRM
Central Records Administrator
Lakewood City Clerk's Office

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