The microfilming phase began in the Spring of 1996 with a project to film the Deep River New Era and is continuing to microfilm Connecticut newspapers, starting with the Farmington Valley Herald , and The Norwich Bulletin . Most filming has been done in the Hartford and Fairfield regions or along the coast, leaving large areas of the state with no preservation microfilming activity. Before filming, every effort will be made to gather a complete file of the newspaper and to find replacements for damaged issues. Using the information from the cataloging and inventory phase, CNP will borrow as many issues as can be found. Press releases will ask for any other missing issues.
Newspapers are disbound, flattened, repaired and put in correct order before filming.
This time consuming step ensures that the every word on the film is as easy to read as possible. Local institutions and citizens will be asked to help pay for the filming projects. It is not possible for CNP alone to pay for filming the estimated 1,500,000 pages of Connecticut newspapers awaiting preservation. It is only through cooperation with public libraries, historical societies, newspaper publishers and local groups that the history and opinion of our communities will be saved. Microfilming as a Preservation Tool Microfilm is expected to last 500 years, preserving the content of bulky, brittle, scattered original newspapers.