We here at Underground Vaults & Storage get asked this question often: Isn’t microfilm obsolete?
Well, no, it is very much a commonly used media. As far as we can tell, that won’t change. Though electronic data has replaced much of the everyday use of microfilm for reducing document volume and increasing access speed, electronic data is the shortest-term media possible. Take a server, for example, storing 100,000 documents. What happens when the hard drive fails, or power is lost? What happens if a strong magnetic pulse occurs? What happens if the software and hardware technology changes…will the data be readable? Think of how much has changed in just 20 years. What will data and technology look like in another 20?
And, consider access. Data on a backup tape, server, mirrored server, CD or hard drive requires technology and software to read it. It requires power as well. But microfilm requires only a magnifying glass and light – daylight will do. No special tech needed there.
Now, we’re not saying electronic data storage is bad. Quite the contrary, it is here to stay, and is ever increasing. But it has limitations, as all media does. It has specific uses.
Much like microfilm. Microfilm is currently the longest-lasting media, save perhaps etching a document in a golden or granite tablet. The newest microfilms are rated to last 250 – 500 years — when stored in the proper conditions. The colder and drier, the better. That is far longer than paper, hard drives, CD’s or DVD’s, or backup data tapes.
If you want an archival record of a document – let’s say, the articles of incorporation for a business, or propotype designs, or historic documents, newspapers, microfilm is the way to preserve it. By all means, consider scanning them and having them available for all to read and access – but don’t be fooled into thinking a scanned image replaces a hard copy or microfilm document. You can thank technology glitches, changes, viruses, hackers, and power surges for that.
Here are some links we find particularly useful regarding microfilm:
