The following article was submitted by Meredith Gadzinski, an Adult Services Librarian at the Manitowoc Public Library.

I’m really excited to share some of the new things we have done in our local history collection at MPL with you!

First of all, the newspaper-on-microfilm drawers have been re-organized and re-labeled. The labels are bigger and display the years of the newspapers. And if they are in a language other than English that is noted on the labels, as well. These small changes make it easier to browse the newspapers on microfilm and find what years and papers you’re interested in using for your research.

Secondly, in addition to our “Buildings Have a History” pamphlet, a “Genealogy Help at MPL” pamphlet has been created to help you to get your researching started.

However, the most exciting part of this update is being able to pass along that the Library has purchased a new ScanPro 3500 microfilm machine thanks to the support and generosity of the Manitowoc Public Library Foundation!

Meredith Gadzinski

So, what is a microfilm machine? Simply put, it’s a machine that reads microfilm. Pretty straightforward, right? We use microfilm to preserve newspapers at MPL. We have several local history resources on microfilm. There are newspapers dating back as early as 1854, Census records, Index to Manitowoc County Court Records, and the Wisconsin Necrology. To check out a full list everything we have available on microfilm, please stop by the…