# The Reel Library: Master Negative Microfilm Collections at the Library of Congress

Although the Library has shifted toward digital, microfilm’s chapter at the Library of Congress (LOC) is far from closed. The Library of Congress has over one million reels of microfilm in its collections and microfilm are requested and used every day. Microfilm may be the only copy of important material at the LOC. The Preservation Services Division ensures that patrons to the Library can continue to use the vast and diverse microfilm collection. Although the Library does not continue to produce microfilm, it receives it from overseas offices and must process and organize it. Microfilm digitization makes these collections even more accessible. Microfilm is easy to digitize, and its peculiarities, such as tape marks, targets, and fingerprints of employees remain in its digitized version. These traces of the employees who worked tirelessly to create microfilm remind us of the human side of preservation and library work. It is fitting that they have left their mark on the pages of history.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2026
- Runtime: 48 min
- By: Martyniak, Cathleen
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/video-11909/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/video-11909?play=1)