How do I use microfilm for library research?
If the library has a machine that will scan to digital for you, like an Canon MS300, it will take as much time to scan a page as it does to make a photocopy of a page — it takes at least 5-10 seconds per page to line up the image and start it scanning after you’ve spent a few minutes searching for the page, which, if you’re planning on getting hundreds of pages, will be a several-day project for you; expect, at the fastest, 70 pages per hour. There are companies (disclaimer: like the one I work for) who do bulk scanning, but that would require the film leaving the grounds of the library. If you’re planning on publishing, though, rather than casual research, you might want to discuss in detail with the library what you’re intending to do and what you need to accomplish your ends. You may be able to work out some arrangement where the library entrusts the film to you on the condition that you provide them a free copy of the digital scans when you’re finished with the film; lots of libra
The public library I work at has a digital microfilm scanner, so check with the owning library or your local library. Images are saved as a jpg to a usb drive. I did a quick test and I was easily able to save 10 sequential pages to the usb in less than a minute (about 50 seconds), so you can do the math. I had a patron do an entire 600+ book in an afternoon. But again this was sequential pages. As for getting them OCRed afterwards, that is something you might want to look at paying to have done if it really is going to be in the thousands of pages.
