If we accept that knowledge is power, power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely*, then librarians are potentially the most corrupt people in the world: they have access to infinite sources of information, over which they often hold the keys.

I was reminded of the power that lies within libraries during a tour of the recently refurbished State Library of Victoria. In the newspaper archive, there were cabinets full of microfiche, the old analogue technology that has outlived many digital data formats.

Microfiche is ideal for capturing volumes of old newspapers, given its ability to capture facsimile images of each page, reduce storage space and avoid acid decay of old newsprint. And, with tools like optical character recognition (OCR), it is even possible to create finer content indexing and metadata not previously available with physical microfiche itself.

I recall the first time I used a library microfiche – for a school history project. Later on at university, I had access to numerous research archives, but you still needed to know how to navigate the index files to locate the specific records and documents (this was long before the wide availability of library computers, databases and online search). In one instance, students were required to undertake a short course on how to use the materials before they were given access – a perfect example of librarians as knowledge gatekeepers!

* Apologies to Sir Francis Bacon and Lord Acton for this conflated mashup…

Next week #7: Stencil Duplicators