Library Installs New Microfilm Machine

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2016

LIBRARY INSTALLS NEW MICROFILM MACHINE

St. Helens, Ore. – The St. Helens Public Library installed a new microfilm machine in October 2016 thanks to a grant from the Columbia County Cultural Coalition with additional funding provided by the Friends of the St. Helens Public Library and the City of St. Helens.

The previous machine, which was purchased by the Friends of the St. Helens Public Library in 1999, no longer held focus, had uneven lighting, and could not enlarge or save documents. The new machine is a ScanPro1100 microfilm reader, printer and scanner. Library patrons can take advantage of the machine’s auto-focus capability, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, the option to save documents to a USB device, and built-in enlargement, reduction, and other image enhancement features. Microfilm that was nearly unreadable due to faint newsprint is now legible through image darkening.

The St. Helens Public Library has 100 reels of microfilm newspapers dating from the late 1800s through 2014. All microfilm through April 22, 1921, has been digitized through the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program and can be accessed online at http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/. Additionally, the St. Helens Public Library has Oregon census records on microfilm from 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1920 and 1930.

The new microfilm machine is available for use at the St. Helens Public Library during open hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The St. Helens Public Library is located at 375 S. 18th Street, St. Helens.

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For further information regarding the new microfilm machine at St. Helens Public Library, please contact Reference Librarian Brenda Herren-Kenaga at 503-397-4544 or brendah@ci.st-helens.or.us