Word: microfilms
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...This work fills a significant gap in scholarly research. Previously, Harvard dissertations were difficult to obtain, even on microfilm," said Warren Professor of American History Emeritus Frank B. Freidel. Freidel and the current Warren professor, Ernest R. May, made the selections in the area of American history and political science...
Many Harvard dissertations are not available on microfilm, and scholars must visit the University Archives to obtain dissertations written before the early 1980s...
...book does have "brittle paper," and is therefore unusable, the library first checks to see if a reprint or a duplicate microfilm can be purchased. In the event that neither of these is available, the book is sent to be microfilmed in Harvard's own department in the basement of Widener. Even after being microfilmed, the book is looked at again to determine whether there is any value in keeping it. "We are superconservative" in throwing away books, Freitag says...
...terms of cost, Freitag says, it is much less expensive to buy a duplicate microfilm of a book ($1) or to rebind it ($6), than to microfilm it ($50). Because Harvard libraries operate under a decentralized system, money for preservation must come out of each individual library's budget, Freitag says. "That determines how much they can preserve...
...microfilming can only go so far. Many of the books in Houghton need to be preserved in their original form. "There are certain things that you cannot allow to be worn out because they cannot be replaced," says Stoddard. "Microfilm serves the needs of most readers," he says, but "microfilm won't show you how the book was put together... There is no substitute when it comes to evidence for the book itself...