The Indiana State Library and Indiana Archives and Records Administration are about to announce a collaborative effort to merge their newspaper microfilm master reels into a single collection. The new compilation will be managed by the state library in 2025. This modification occurs during a period of greater change in the world of newspaper publishing, spurred-on by the sharp decline in newspaper sales and tangible print formats.
In twenty-one months that I’ve been in the Newspaper Librarian position, I’ve been in the eye of the storm. During this period, the newspaper reading room has been reallocated, compelling me to contact publishers statewide to cancel all print subscriptions. In this period, the library has struggled to find a way to collect these subscriptions digitally, so that our partner lab in the state archives can create microfilm reels from PDF images. (The challenges start with file sharing methods and end with file naming issues.) In this period, we are still trying to dovetail traditional print-to-film practices into digital-to-film practices for preservation.
Except for Indianapolis natives, a patron can no longer enter our state library to read today’s issue of their hometown paper. This theme is sadly common throughout the library system. Leading up to this point, the state library has done an excellent job managing Indiana’s rich local histories embodied in these papers. But shifting winds have carried away old policies and threatened the future policies we might implement. Diligence and the willingness to bend with the flash winds will be key to survival. Stay tuned as I share a candid look at this unfolding saga. In the coming year, I will post my challenges and solutions in the following projects:
- Collecting newspapers digitally from around the state
- Merging two state microfilm collections into one
- Adjusting archival preservation assessment in the age of digital newspapers
As always, I encourage your responses in the comments field, at the end of this post and every upcoming post. Your topical thoughts and observations matter! Let’s help each other get through this storm–so that our local libraries, historical societies, and universities can keep the stories of our hometowns going for future generations. Make no mistake, we will need hard hats, rubber boots, and a map, to make it to the other side of the weather.
HAS YOUR LIBRARY, SOCIETY, OR UNIVERSITY MOVED OR MERGED A MICROFILM COLLECTION? ARE LOCALS STILL COMING IN TO READ PRINT NEWSPAPERS? HOW HAVE NEWSPAPER TRENDS AFFECTED YOUR ABILITY TO SAVE ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE, AND PROVIDE THEM TO THE PUBLIC?