mikroformy

Mikroformy, or microforms, are a family of small-format photographic media used to store images of documents in a compact form. The most common formats are microfilm, microfiche and aperture cards. Microforms are designed to save physical storage space, reduce handling of fragile originals, and enable inexpensive duplication of documents.

Microforms originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and gained widespread use in libraries and archives from the 1920s onward. They provide long-term preservation by recording reduced images of pages onto film or cards, allowing large collections to be stored in a much smaller physical footprint. Proper storage and handling are essential to minimize deterioration.

Formats and uses include:

- Microfilm: rolled or sheet film, typically 16 mm or 35 mm, containing a sequence of microimages. Read with microfilm readers or projected from a camera-based system.

- Microfiche: flat cards, commonly 4x6 inches, containing a grid of microimages that can be read with fiche readers.

- Aperture cards: 35 mm microfilm strips mounted in punched cards, used for indexing and archival records, often in technical libraries and engineering archives.

Preservation and access considerations include environmental control, protection from light, and careful handling. Some microforms are susceptible to aging processes such as acetate film deterioration (“vinegar syndrome”); newer polyester bases are more durable but still require appropriate storage. In many institutions, microforms are maintained as a complement to digital systems: originals may be reformatted digitally for access while the microforms remain as an archival record, and readers or viewer devices are provided to access the images.