THE FIRST SECTION IS DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE THE NONTECHNICALLY ORIENTED READER TO BASIC CONCEPTS, APPROACHES, AND TERMINOLOGY. THE SECOND DESCRIBES IN DETAIL THE COURT APPLICATIONS FOR MICROFILM. EACH APPLICATION RELATES TO A SPECIFIC TYPE OF COURT RECORD, E.G., ACTIVE CASE FILES, INSTRUMENT FILINGS, TRAFFIC TICKETS, COMPUTER PRINTOUTS; RECOMMENDS THE MEDIA, EQUIPMENT, AND OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR MICROFILMING THESE RECORDS: AND DESCRIBES THE COSTS AND BENEFITS TO HELP DETERMINE WHETHER TO ADOPT THE MICROFILM SYSTEM IN A PARTICULAR COURT. THE THIRD PART SERVES AS A HANDBOOK TO GUIDE PERSONNEL IN THE DAILY OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A MICROFILM SYSTEM. INCLUDED ARE MANY TIME AND EFFORT-SAVING TIPS (GENERALLY LEARNED THE 'HARD WAY' BY MOST COURTS), PLUS STANDARD PROCEDURES TO ENSURE SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE. THE NEXT SECTION DESCRIBES THE BASIC SYSTEMS APPROACH NECESSARY TO DETERMINE COURT NEEDS AND TO SELECT AND IMPLEMENT A COURT MICROFILM SYSTEM. VARIOUS LEGAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, AND ECONOMIC ISSUES ARE DISCUSSED WHICH MIGHT REQUIRE COURTS TO LIMIT, OR EVEN REJECT, HE USE OF MICROFILM. SPECIAL ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO STANDARDS AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES DESIGNED TO FACILITATE AN EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT MICROFILM OPERATION. THE FIFTH PART DESCRIBES THE PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION FOR EACH CLASS OF MICROFILM EQUIPMENT. EACH MAJOR EQUIPMENT FEATURE IS THOROUGHLY ANALYZED IN TERMS OF FUNCTION AND DESIRABILITY FOR COURT APPLICATIONS. THE READER IS PROVIDED A GUIDE FOR SELECTING EQUIPMENT, A LISTING OF IMPORTANT EQUIPMENT FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES, AND A CATALOGUE COMPARING VENDOR MODELS WITH DESIRABLE EQUIPMENT FEATURES. THE FINAL SECTION DISCUSSES THE MAJOR COURT APPLICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT FEATURES OF COMPUTEROPERATED MICROFILM (COM). FOR A SUMMARY OF THIS MANUAL, SEE NCJ-37375. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)