The Present and Future of Government Documents in Microform

exceptions, are available in microform. This article is concerned with sources of such microforms, and elaboration on the particular forms used. Current trends in micropublication and future systems are also discussed. The word microform is often misunderstood to mean a specific form of microimage. Properly used it refers to the entire family of techniques used in microreproduction which incorporates the microtransparencies and micro-opaques. These two major divisions of the microimage are further subdivided into ( 1) roll microfilm in various sizes, (2) the microfiche which is a sheet form of microtransparency, (3) the aperture card, which is an E.A.M. card with a rectangular hole holding a micro-film transparency, and (4) a variety of assorted strip microfilm systems. On the opaque side, there is the photographically produced cardboard sheet bearing microimages, which is well represented by the Microcard, and the printed form of micro-opaque known as Microprint and pro-duced solely by the Readex Microprint Corporation which is so prominently involved in the publication of U.S. government docu-ments. It is quite proper to question the justification for publishing govern-ment documents in a form other than the traditional paper form. While the changeover from paper to film in industrial and business applications has made rapid progress, libraries, with some exceptions, have but limited holdings in microform, and most libraries have in-adequate micro-reading facilities. In 1963, Helen McReynolds discussed the advantages to be derived by librarians from publication of U.S. documents in microform, an