Storage Housing Conditions Required for Extended Storage We are offering this advice as a guide only, these are not the absolute guidelines for storing your microfilm. Please check with your governing agency as to your specific needs. All of the follow information pertains to your MASTER microfilm. The duplicated film is designed to be more resilient to abuse and is intended for day to day use. When these duplicates wear out that is the only time that your master film should ever be removed from storage (for making another set of duplicates),,,     Open shelves and racks may be used if the film is in closed containers. The preservation, master copy, of any fiche or film should be kept in a different location than the duplicating master and reference copies. This should preferably be off-site , even in another agency or state. This is a security measure to ensure that at least one copy of the information will always exist, protecting the master against destruction by theft, inadvertent use, or disaster such as flood or fire. Storage furniture should be made of coated metal. Wood should be avoided, as it can release harmful vapors, can contribute to the spread of fire and may harbor insects. Specially designed storage furniture such as drawers and cabinets can be purchased for microforms allowing more efficient use of space, however, these are only necessary when large quantities of film are held. Microfilms may be wound on reels or cores and stored in roll form. Rolls shall all be wound tightly, but not under extreme tensions. Rolls of microfilm shall be stored, preferable, in closed containers to provide protection against dirt and physical damage, unless the film is protected by the storage housing. Fiche microfilm shall be stored, preferable, in individual fiche envelopes. Closed enclosures are not necessarily airtight and may provide limited access to ambient air therefore, if they are used, the humidity of the ambient air shall not exceed the recommended limits on our page Storage Conditions and the Environmental Elements. <> Back to Top <> Contact Us__|__Send e-mail__|__Site Index__|__Home Page