Should I digitize old microfilm and microfiche?

Digitizing microfilm and microfiche is often worthwhile, but it is a project to plan deliberately, not a default to apply to everything. The right answer depends on how the film is used, what condition it is in, and what your retention obligations require.

When digitizing makes sense

Converting film to digital images is usually a good idea when:

• Access is the problem. Microfilm requires readers and physical handling. Digital images can be searched, indexed, shared, and integrated with other systems — a major improvement for frequently used records.
• The film is at risk. Older acetate and nitrate film can degrade, and reader hardware is increasingly hard to maintain. Digitizing captures the content before the medium or the equipment fails.
• The records have lasting value. High-value or high-use collections justify the cost of a quality conversion.

When to be cautious

Digitization is not free or automatic. Be deliberate when:

• The records have low value or are near the end of their retention period. It rarely makes sense to digitize material you can soon lawfully destroy.
• You expect digital to replace the film. Good microfilm, stored properly, is a stable preservation medium with a very long expected life. Digital files require active, ongoing management — format migration, integrity checks, and backups — to remain usable.

Do it to a standard

If you proceed, follow recognized capture guidelines for resolution, color, and metadata so the images are faithful, legible surrogates. Federal agencies and many other organizations look to FADGI technical guidelines. Plan the long-term care of the resulting files as a digital preservation effort, not a one-time scan.

Decide the originals up front

Confirm whether destroying the film afterward is authorized by an applicable retention schedule, and verify the digital copies before disposing of anything. Many organizations choose to retain the film as a preservation backup even after digitizing for access.

In short: digitize when it improves access or protects at-risk content and the records justify it — and treat the result as records to be preserved, not just files on a drive. See the digitization and imaging hub for more.