When requested items from other university libraries arrive in microfilm or microfiche format, let expert library staff scan to PDF for the MIT Community who request the items.

If the Libraries do not have research information the MIT Community wants, the Libraries will borrow it from other university libraries. Sometimes the item requested arrives as a reel of microfilm or on microfiche, formats that most of the Community rarely use as self-service. When this happens, I suggest the Libraries' Document Services department contact the MIT Community member who requested the item by email to ensure they still want the material. Note: occasionally something arrives and the person does not come collect it, so contacting the individual will ensure the person still wants the material.

Document Services can cap the upper limit number of scanned pages allowable per requested item. If the item falls within the allowable scanned number of pages, the material will be scanned and made available within ILLiad for the person to collect as a PDF.

This will relieve the burden placed on an individual who has to deal with possible white print on a black background, threading a spool of microfilm through a reader/printer, and any hassles associated with obtaining the information they need for research.