microfiche

Microfiche is a small, flat piece of film that contains miniature photographs of documents, newspapers, or records. It allows large amounts of information to be stored in a compact format and accessed with specialized equipment like a microfiche reader. By shining light through the fiche and enlarging the images onto a screen, users can view and read the stored materials without handling the original documents. Microfiche was widely used in libraries and archives for long-term preservation and efficient storage of historical records, though digital storage has largely replaced it today.