The main similarity between books and microfiche is that they are both made up of, and contain, the written word. Obviously these words are displayed in different forms and mediums, but both books and microfiche contain pages and words. They are also both documents of history. Every book that is written is a document to the time that it was created, and similarly, microfiche documents history through preserving newspapers and other historical documents.
Both books and microfiche can be educational. Often microfiche is used to store old newspaper editions, or historical information, and this can be very informative and useful for people who are trying to learn about a particular era. Historical documents that would have very possibly disintegrated or been lost can now be accessed years later. Similarly, most books are designed to teach the reader about a particular topic, and so in this aspect both microfiche and books have the same purpose.
Most people would think that books are easier to read, and easier to learn from, than microfiche. But this isn't necessarily the case. According to a doctoral dissertation by Robert Jenning in 1972, children who read a book on microfiche were as willing to read and had the same vocabulary learning and comprehension rate as children who the same material in book form.
In order to be kept and reused, both books and microfiche must be carefully looked after. Light, weather and constant use can destroy both books and film over time, and both forms are susceptible to moisture and scratches. Because of this fragility, books and microfiche must be treated carefully and stored correctly if they are to be preserved. However, microfiche does typically last a lot longer than a book, often around 200 to 500 years.