The State Library of Victoria has acquired 10 new high resolution ScanPro 2000 microfilm scanners, bringing history to life in the digital era.

THE roll-out of the ScanPro 2000 scanners by the State Library of Victoria confirms the microfilm-microfiche technology as the first choice of leading Australian public libraries, according to Laurie Varendorff, CEO of local distributor Digital Microfilm Equipment (DME) .

They are already a hit with newspaper researchers, according to State Library Newspaper Librarian, Tim Hogan.

"Melbourne's joining of 'The ScanPro 2000 Revolution' comes hot on the heels of the State Library of New South Wales installation earlier this year of 10 ScanPro 2000 units for use in its Sydney newspaper reading room," Mr Varendorff said.

"Now patrons and researchers at the magnificent State Library of Victoria can also experience the state-of-the-art convenience of extracting items from SLV's vast microfiche and microfilm collection in just one second using the ultra-reliable ScanPro 2000.

"The fulfilment of this contract cements the ScanPro 2000 as the microfilm-microfiche product of choice in Australia’s premier public libraries."

The SLV purchase was secured by Melbourne sales territory agent, Gary Youdell of Victoria-based Technological Micro Data, after an evaluation and tendering process that began last January.

The State Library holds 40,000 rolls of microfilm, covering 870 different newspaper titles, dating as far back as the Pennsylvania Gazette, published in 1728.

Individual users can now examine these films on high-resolution digital monitors connected to the ScanPro 2000s, then "save" the images to USB memory sticks or print out to a central printer.

The higher definition images available on-screen, the ability to effortlessly switch from negative to positive film and to magnify text up to 54 times without having to manually switch lenses, head the list of things end-users immediately love about the ScanPro 2000 compared with more fiddly alternate micrographics viewing platforms they have experienced, Mr Varendorff said.

DME reports that 142 ScanPro 2000 systems and 77 ScanPro 1000 systems have been installed across the Australian-New Zealand-Papua New Guinea-South Pacific market territory.