Watson Davis formed the Documentation Institute in 1935, which became the American Documentation Institute (ADI) on 13 March 1937 with the collaboration of Atherton Seidell and others. The organization was first concerned with microfilm and its role as a vehicle for the dissemination of information. ADI worked toward the development of microfilm readers and cameras. Their first microfilm laboratories were located in the U.S.Department of Agriculture Library in Washington, DC and the Institute distributed materials through the newly created Bibliofilm Service.