I was wondering if I am the only one who had noticed that if you get a microfilm via Interlibrary Loan you must go to the main branch of the St. Louis County Library as all the microfilm machines have been removed from the branches. I used to use the Florissant Valley branch to view microfilms but now I have to drive all the way to S Lindbergh to do so. I was told when I asked why they could not put the non printing, manual microfilm machines at some of the other libraries other than the main branch. There are several of these machines at the main branch that are seldom used. Below is the response I got when I made this suggestion. Since I live in Florissant and am on limited disability, I find this to be a great inconvenience. Am I the only one who finds this to be an inconvience? Bobbie "Thank you for submitting a suggestion form to the St. Louis County Library regarding access to a microfilm reader at the Florissant Valley Branch.  I am sorry that the microfilm reader/printer is no longer available at the Florissant Valley Branch.  I certainly understand that it is inconvenient for you to travel to Headquarters to  access the machines there.  Microfilm usage at all branches dropped significantly over the past decade as electronic resources replaced much of the information that was available on microfilm and microfiche."  "Florissant Valley was the last branch in North County to eliminate the microfilm reader/printer.  Its usage had declined to nearly nothing.  A few individuals, like yourself, used the machine to view and/or print information from films that were sent through inter-library loan.  As you recognized, these machines are prone to breaking down, therefore, we must maintain service agreements in order to keep them in working condition.  Due to the cost of such repairs, and the declining usage, a decision has been made to consolidate microfilm readers into Headquarters where they receive much heavier use and are more in demand.    Even simple reader machines that do not have printing capabilities still require repair and take up a significant amount of space in the branch.  Due to these factors we are unable to replace the microfilm reader at the Florissant Valley Branch.  I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause." "You already know that Headquarters houses several microfilm readers.  You may not be aware that we offers several subscription-based databases for genealogy research.  The following link provides information about these valuable resources.  http://www.slcl.org/databases/genealogy.htm  Many of these databases can be accessed through a home computer with Internet access." "Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.  Thank you for your patronage."   "Sincerely, "Eric Button "Regional Branch Administrator" "Eric Button "Regional Branch Administrator "St. Louis County Library "Florissant Valley Branch "195 New Florissant Rd. S. "Florissant, MO 63031 "[email protected]"