Reading the film

The section contains an impressive archive of various rare newspapers (Indian and international),periodicals,manuscripts,photographs and private papers available on microfilm and microfiche.

As the library caters to only its members,the section operates on the basis of bookings,made every Friday. The booking can be made for one session only and for the next week. But,those feeling more adventurous can always go make a trip to the section on a lark and may chance upon a free machine.

The oldest newspaper available at the archive is Hickey’s Bengal Gazette or The Calcutta General Adviser ,the first English newspaper in India,founded in 1780.

The Indian newspapers in the archive include not only well-known English dailies but also a vast number of regional dailies including Amrita Bazar Patrika,one of the oldest Indian dailies,originally founded and published in Bengali in 1868,but later converted to an English daily overnight to circumvent the strict censorship laws imposed by the Vernacular Press Act in 1878.

The collection is constantly updated as new microfilms are either acquired or produced by the NMML itself. According to the staff,the library is currently in the process of updating its microfilm section and has recently added more newspapers to its archive.

Private collections of BR Ambedkar and VD Savarkar can also be viewed on microfilm. However,due to the technology of microfilm and microfiche being a dated one,the process of viewing it can be tedious.

The machine,replaced just 10-15 years ago,is old nonetheless and requires a 15-minute ‘rest’ every 45 minutes.

As the librarian calls out ‘rest time’,the machine has to be switched off in order to recuperate from its arduous feat.

This ‘rest-time’ is non-negotiable and needs to be adhered to,according to the timings written on the machine– forty-five minutes past every hour,even if it hasn’t been in use for those forty-five minutes.

Currently,the library is undergoing the process of digitisation of their microfilm archive,which would make it more convenient for the members to access all these documents.