• Find Books
• Find Articles
• Research Guides
• Course Pages
• Tutorials
• Library Information
• Ask A Librarian

What are Microcards?
Microcards are a type of microform, just like microfiche and microfilm, which feature reproductions of resources including pamphlets, brochures, plays, newspapers and even entire books in condensed scale.

When would Microcards be useful for research?
The resources reproduced on microcards can be extremely useful primary source documents. The types of documents made available in most of these collections cannot be found anywhere else in the library or online.

Where can I find the Microcard Collection in Kresge Library?
The Microcard Collection is located on the 1st floor in room 143. The microcards are housed in boxes on the east wall next to the microfilm cabinets. Organizations of the microcards vary by collection. Examining the outside of a box will indicate a date range of what is held within and each collection has some sort of internal organization, whether it be chronological or alphabetical by author.

How do I use Microcards?
Microcards cannot be read without the aid of microform readers, which magnify the image on the card and project it onto a screen. The readers are located on the 1st floor in room 143. For instructions on how to use the Microcard readers, click here.

Kresge’s readers are not hooked up to printers, however, so the microcards can also be examined and printed by using a scanner. This then allows users to scan a microcard, zoom in on the desired image and print, save or e-mail the document. Click here for instructions on how to use the scanner in the Kresge Library Computer Lab for scanning microcards.

If you need help searching the contents of any of the collections, remember you can always ask a reference librarian for assistance. If you need assistance using the readers, scanning or printing, you can seek help from librarians or ask at the Circulation Desk.

The Collection  

• Early American Imprints
  This collection contains reproductions of all known existing books, pamphlets, broadsides, almanacs and other materials that were published in what is now the United States from 1639-1819. Early American Imprints is unprecedented in terms of primary source documents and could prove very useful for those doing research in much of the Humanities, especially Literature, History and even Religion.
  
  
• Colonial Newspapers
  A collection of newspapers from Early America dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, this collection includes the reproductions of over 20 colonial newspapers.
  
  
• Three Centuries of Drama
  Containing over 5000 titles, Three Centuries of Drama includes every important play published in the English language in England from 1500-1800 and in the United States from 1741-1830. Potential uses for the collection include examining the evolution of plays over time, as well as locating plays that are out of print or have limited availability.
  
  
• British Parliamentary Papers
  
  Hansard’s Debates – Parliamentary Debates
  Two sets of dates are covered by the collection: 1731-1810 & 1830-1834
  
  House of Commons British Sessional Papers
  This collection covers dates ranging from 1777-1928. Additional resources for British Parliamentary Debates in these and later years can be found in varying areas on Microfiche, in the bound journal collection and also online.

  Additional resources for both of these collections can be found electronically online at the following websites:

  • UK Parliament Publications
  • UK Official Documents
  • British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Services (BOPCRIS)

• U.S. Government Publications
  
  Congressional Serial Set
  This collection contains volumes 1 through 4217, documenting the 15th through the 56th Congresses.
  
  Congressional Hearings & Committee Prints
  Features the months of January through July of 1942
  
  Senate and House Committee Hearings & Committee Prints
  Covers the years of 1962 to 1964

This is just a miniscule portion of the U.S. Government Publications available through Kresge Library. Visit the Government Documents Research Guide for more information.