photo courtesy of the Ridgewood Public Library
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to the Ridgewood Public Library in 2018 the Ridgewood Public Library Foundation graciously funded a new microfilm machine that allows you to easily read newspapers such as the Ridgewood News (1891-2011), the Bergen Record (1970-2013) and more. Ridgewood Public Library welcomes you to stop by to use the reader, whether you’re researching Ridgewood’s 125th Anniversary, your family genealogy, sporting events, or local organizations. Any of our Reference Staff are happy to help you discover more about Ridgewood’s past.
Originally developed in the 1800s, microfilm did not get put to significant use until the late 1920s. When it was first developed, banker George McCarthy held the patent for the machine capable of creating this film.
The microfilm machine created permanent film copies of bank documents by using a special camera, which took pictures of documents with black and white film. The film records were able to resist deterioration and helped save storage space. The images could be viewed later through a special machine. In 1928, Eastman Kodak purchased the rights to the machine, which helped catapult it into the business market.
In the 1930s, the New York Times began creating copies of their daily newspapers to store for later use. The paper used by the Times to create these copies, however, deteriorated rapidly. Therefore, the newspaper decided to switch to microfilm. After seeing their success with the process, Harvard University began an extensive recording project. This project continues today and involves copying newspapers from around the world onto microfilm, which is then stored in the library at the university.