I recently read a post about microfilm soon to be discarded at the National Archives at New York City. They have a long list of records they will keep, but they also have two pages of lists of microfilm records they are looking to donate if they can find any interested takers.
Apparently these are records that are otherwise available online or are duplicates of other collections.
These are things like:
Passenger Lists of Chinese Arrivals at British Columbia, Canada Jan 1906 - June 1912
Federal Mortality Census Schedules 1850-1880
World War 1 Draft reg. cards
Index to passenger lists of vessels arriving at Boston, MA July 1, 1906 - Dec 31, 1920
(To see the full list on a PDF file go HERE and go to last two pages)
Apparently they are willing to donate it for the price of shipping it.
Contact information is:
David Powers at david.powers@nara.gov or Diane Leblanc at diane.leblanc@nara.gov
Apparently these are records that are otherwise available online or are duplicates of other collections.
These are things like:
Passenger Lists of Chinese Arrivals at British Columbia, Canada Jan 1906 - June 1912
Federal Mortality Census Schedules 1850-1880
World War 1 Draft reg. cards
Index to passenger lists of vessels arriving at Boston, MA July 1, 1906 - Dec 31, 1920
(To see the full list on a PDF file go HERE and go to last two pages)
Apparently they are willing to donate it for the price of shipping it.
Contact information is:
David Powers at david.powers@nara.gov or Diane Leblanc at diane.leblanc@nara.gov
or call (781) 663-0130 or write to: Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA 02452.
As more and more information gets digitized and is easily indexed by computer there is a tendency to think that microfilm will go the way of the buggy whip. But in truth, there are only two kinds of computers - those that have already crashed at some point or those that are waiting to do so. Files can be corrupted. Data can be lost. Microfilm is a stable record that can last for many years if cared for properly.
I do hope some nice library somewhere will make a home for the films being passed on by the National Archives. The very idea of it ending up in the dust bin makes me shudder all the way down to my bones!
