Using Micromaterials in Strozier Library

Q: Can I save what I find?

A: Yes, you can! Our microform viewers also function as high resolution scanners, capable of capturing images in PDF, JPEG, and TIFF formats, which can then be saved to a flash drive or a CD-R. Be sure to bring one of these with you to the library if you would like to save anything.

Q: Can I print what I find?

A: Yes, you can! You can either print directly from our viewing software or save the file as a PDF and then print it from Acrobat. In either case, scans are printed on our networked printers in the building. The cost is $.08 per page.

Q: Can I e-mail scans to myself?

A: It depends. Because our scanners make high resolution images, it is not uncommon for files to be too large to send via e-mail. For this reason, we recommend that you either bring a flash drive or a blank CD-R with you to the library if you intend to scan more than a page or two. Another option is the new "Drop Box" service being provided to FSU students, faculty, and staff, which allows you to upload files up to 1 GB in size. To use this service, visit: https://dropbox.fsu.edu

Q: Isn't this stuff online?

A: Some of it is, yes. While we have access to several newspapers and periodicals through our online databases, nearly all of these databases provide html, "text only" versions of these publications, meaning that any advertisements, photographs, or other graphics are omitted from the online version. Additionally, our electronic coverage for most publications only covers the last two decades, so microform is still the only way to get content from before the 1990s. If you are only concerned with the text of an article, and it was published in the last twenty years, you may very well be able to access what you need without using micromaterials. If you are looking for something a bit older, or your research relies on locating images or advertisements within publications, you will probably need to use micromaterials.

Q: How long does it take to scan something?

A: Our scanners require you to scan images one page at a time, but you can usually scan several pages in a minute. The longer your document, the longer it will take to scan the whole thing, but we've found that users can usually scan upwards of 100 pages an hour.