What does microfiche mean?
Microfiche is a compact archival format in which document images are recorded in reduced form on a small sheet of microfilm. The images are normally inspected or enlarged through a microfiche reader, making the format useful for preserving and consulting large quantities of records while using relatively little storage space. The term is especially common in libraries, archives, museums, and historical collections, and it can refer both to the physical sheet and to the information reproduced on it. Microfiche differs from microfilm mainly in size and format: microfiche is a sheet or card, while microfilm is the broader term for photographic film carrying reduced document images. Although largely superseded by digital scanning in many institutions, microfiche remains a significant preservation medium where long-term readability and a stable physical format are priorities.
nounA small sheet of microfilm containing a reduced photographic image of a document, viewed or enlarged with a reader. It may hold one frame or a sequence of frames for archival reference.
- A small sheet or card of microfilm carrying reduced photographic images of documents, usually for storage and retrieval.
"The library digitized the fragile document and stored a copy on microfiche."
"The archivist consulted the relevant record on a microfiche reader."
"A copy of the manuscript was preserved on microfiche before the original was transferred to a climate-controlled collection."
Microfiche is both singular and plural in modern usage; microfiches is also common when referring to multiple individual sheets.
"The researcher requested the relevant microfiches from the archive."
A microfiche turns a page-sized document into a tiny archival image that can be enlarged to reveal its contents.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does microfiche come from?
The word combines the international combining form micro-, meaning “small,” with fiche, a French word for a card or slip. In the compound microfiche, it refers to a small card or sheet carrying miniature photographic images. The use of microfiche developed during the expansion of microfilm systems in libraries and archives during the mid-20th century. Its relatives include microfilm, microform, and microscope, all of which share the same small-scale or microscopic root idea.
Related word forms
How microfiche is actually used
Microfiche is primarily a library and archival term. In everyday use, it may refer to the sheet itself or, by extension, to the image or information recorded on it. The plural is commonly microfiche or microfiches.
Easily confused with microfiche
Microfilm is the photographic film medium more generally, whereas a microfiche is a small sheet or card of that film designed to hold reduced document images.