[1.] Microfilm readers at the Denver Public Library WHG.

Recently, I requested some microfilm via interlibrary loan. When it arrived, I popped it onto the microfilm reader at work only to find the lamp wasn't working. The entire ordeal made me rethink my plan. Instead of using the reader in my library at work, I would take it to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, where I could use one of their readers. 

The day arrived, but circumstances introduced a new twist. My nine-year-old son. For various reasons, he tagged along on the trip to the archives. He didn't get a choice in the matter. Nevertheless, the opportunity led to new experiences, learning, and memory making. 

Along the way, he asked me what microfilm was, and why did I want to look at it? Why did we need to go to the state archives to use a microfilm reader? How do the readers work? They were all good questions, ones that gave him an opportunity to do some first hand physical research beyond the convenience of the internet. 

Skilled researcher know that often times the magic happens when you get out from behind the screen and search in an archive or library. For us the magic happened, but not because of what we found. 

In fact, I've yet to read, analyze, or synthesize any of the information from the trip. The magic happened because as our time progressed, my son asked, "What are you looking for?"

That was when I told him about his 2x great-grandfather Elijah Robinson, and how he'd been institutionalized before his death. I told him how I wanted to know more about Elijah's life, about why he was institutionalized, and what historical circumstances surrounded the hospital where he spent his last years. My son sat through it all, soaking in the details of his family's life. 

But more importantly, the two of us spent time together as family. Sure we had fun having new experiences together. Rewarding experiences that taught my son a few extra details about research. But really, in the end, we felt the connection to kin that draws so many of us to the world of genealogy. 

All because of one broken lamp on a microfilm reader. 

[1.] 2017, Photograph, Microfilm readers at the Denver Public Library WHG. Denver Public Library, https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/new-microfilm-readers-make-accessing-history-easier-ever.