There are some microfiche readers in Koerner Library. You can also read fiche on what I am calling microfilm readers (but, more accurately, are microform readers) in the pages that follow. In general, you load microfiche as follows:
- Locate the power switch and turn the machine on.
- Pull the handle towards you until the glass plate pops up.
- Place the fiche under the plate, ensure that it is straight, and then push the handle back under the lens until the glass plate has lowered and you can see the fiche projected onto the screen. (Note: no matter how much I do this kind of research, I inevitably put the fiche in upside down and backwards every single time. If you are like me, you may now need to pull the handle and flip or turn the fiche until it’s right-way-up and readable on the screen.)
- When you are finished, you will unload the fiche by following these instructions in reverse: pulling the handle until the glass plate pops up, removing the fiche and putting it back in the envelope, pushing the handle back in, and turning off the machine when you are finished. Then return your used microfiche sheets to the “Return” trolley near the front of this section, by the printers.
For this research exercise, use the microfiche that you have selected from the BC Newspaper Index.
- Load the fiche on a reader using the instructions, above. You should be able to see that a number of card-catalogue cards have been shrunk down and reproduced onto the microfiche. If needed, you can adjust the focus and zoom using these features:
- You will move through the material on the microfiche by moving the handle back and forth, and up and down, until you find the research topic you have chosen. (If it is not there, you might need to choose different search terms or it might not appear in the index because there were not any newspaper articles on the topic at all.)
- Once you find the topic, make note of the information listed. This should include the newspaper title(s), issue date(s), and article details (such as headlines). You will need this information for the next step, when we locate the correct microfilm reels and articles.
- Once you have a list of articles from the newspaper index – or, if you already know the date and location of a particular event – you can move on to find the relevant reels of a particular newspaper on the shelves. Navigate to the next page to begin this work.
If you need to navigate back to the previous page, you can do so here. The research exercise description is here. If you would like to begin this module again, the start page is here.