[PADG:1480] NEWSPLAN 2000 Project Appointment of Contractor

["Lauder, John" <John.Lauder@xxxxx>]

The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project has appointed Microformat (UK) Ltd of Rochester,
Kent, as its Contractor for the preservation of 1,600 of the UK's most
fragile newspaper titles over the next three years. The award is the largest
single contract for archival-quality microfilming of newspaper files ever
made in the UK.

Over 1,600 of the UK's most fragile newspaper titles will be saved for the
nation by a grant of £5 million made to the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project by the
Heritage Lottery Fund. It is the largest grant for preservation of part of
the UK's historical record ever made in the UK.

The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is a unique partnership between the Heritage
Lottery Fund, the newspaper industry, and libraries to save the text of the
UK's most fragile and rare local newspapers. 

The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project will preserve and improve access to over 1,600
local newspaper titles in urgent peril from deterioration in every part of
the UK, from County Down to Cardiff, from Glasgow to Cornwall, and from
Cumbria to Kent, extending from 1780 to 1950. This massive task of
preservation will involve the microfilming of over 40,000 volumes of local
newspapers preserving 21 million pages of text.

Microformat (UK) Ltd is part of the Dutch-owned Microformat Systems, and has
been active in the UK for the past five years. Their biggest contract to
date is the preservation of the First World War Soldiers Records, based at
the Public Record Office, in Kew, London.


Mr John Lauder, Director of the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project, warmly welcomed the
appointment of Microformat (UK) Ltd; 'After a long and detailed competitive
procedure, covered by the EU tendering rules, we are delighted to appoint
Microformat (UK) Ltd as our Contractor and look forward to a long and
harmonious working relationship.  The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project will benefit all
areas of the UK by preserving newspaper files and supplying microfilm and
microfilm readers, free of charge, to public libraries throughout the
country. The granting of £5,000,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as
support from the regional newspaper industry in the UK, represents a
significant investment in archival-quality microfilm as a reliable and safe
analogue preservation medium'.

Dr Ann Matheson, Chairman of the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project, said: 'Microformat
(UK) Ltd has established a strong reputation in the field of preservation
microfilming, and is renowned for high quality work.  We are delighted that
the vital task of saving the UK's most fragile local newspapers through the
NEWSPLAN 2000 Project will be carried out by Microformat (UK) Ltd. We look
forward to fruitful co-operation between the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project and
Microformat (UK) Ltd'. 

Mr David Chapman, Managing Director of Microformat (UK) Ltd said: ' We are
extremely proud to have been chosen to undertake this prestigious and
culturally important project. For Microformat this award represents the
crowning achievement over thirty years close involvement in the microfilming
of archive newsprint in the UK and across mainland Europe.

It is especially apt that the preservation of newspapers, which represent
such an important record of our national heritage was a key factor in the
original formation of our company; it is a tradition that we are privileged
to be carrying into the twenty first century.

The quality and other performance criteria set by The Newsplan 2000 Project
create a new benchmark of excellence for the microfilming of Newspapers
within established preservation practice. Meeting these standards will
demand the use of the very latest equipment and technical innovation,
together with strict adherence to the highest principles of preservation
microfilming. It is a challenge we relish in our partnership with The
NEWSPLAN 2000 Project over the coming years.

Finally, the award of this contract endorses Microformat UK Ltd as an
important employer in the Medway Town area and supports our future plans for
growth and provides stability for our skilled work force. These are aspects
that give me especial pleasure'.

Drs J Baars, Chairman of the Microformat Group, additionally commented: '
The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project represents a truly significant landmark in the
preservation of Newspaper archives. It will stand as an example to all
collections of this historically important material, both throughout Europe
and in the rest of the world.

Microformat has a long and proud history of involvement in preservation
microfilming, and I am wholly delighted that we have been entrusted with
this most important and exacting project'.   

Further information on the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is available from Mr John
Lauder, Project Director, The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project (020 7412 7372). 

Information on Microformat (UK) Ltd is available from Mr David Chapman,
Managing Director, Microformat (UK) Ltd (01634 813 751).

Photographs of deteriorating newspapers are available at the Project's
Website <www.NEWSPLAN2000.org>, and may be downloaded for use by the press.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project
The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is a preservation and access initiative to
preserve local newspaper titles from all parts of the UK by microfilming
them to archival-quality preservation standards. Microfilming to this
standard also provides a foundation for subsequent digitisation of the text.

2. The NEWSPLAN Programme
The NEWSPLAN Programme was established in the mid-1980s as a UK-wide
regional initiative, supported by the British Library, to examine the
condition of local newspapers across the UK. Each Region of England, along
with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, has its own NEWSPLAN Committee,
comprising librarians, users and representatives of the newspaper industry.
Reports for each Region of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
have been published over the decade from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

3. Archival Microfilming
The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is a major preservation initiative to correct the
decay of newspaper files from high use and physical degradation through
chemicals in the paper reacting with the atmosphere to increase the process
of acidification, which ultimately destroys the newsprint made from
wood-pulp. By transferring such newspaper files to archival-quality
microfilm, the survival of the newspaper file rests with the master-negative
film, which has a shelf-life under appropriate storage of 500 years.










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