How to Find Old Newspaper Articles Online & IRL

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Plus, effective search tips to help you find what you need
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Historical newspapers are a terrific resource, whether you’re doing research, looking into your family history, or simply want to learn more about the past. However, sometimes it can seem a little difficult to find old newspaper articles. Fortunately, whether you’re looking for digitized or physical copies, there are actually a lot of different ways for you to easily find historical newspapers! In this article, we go into those different ways and explain how to find what you’re looking for online and in person , with help from author and journalist Gerald Posner. Let’s dive in!

Finding Old Newspaper Articles

  • Author and journalist Gerald Posner says to subscribe to a specific publication to gain access to their archives. Alternatively, visit a library to access its archives.
  • Search free online newspaper collections like the Google News archive or the Library of Congress.
  • Pay for a subscription to online archives.
  • Check with universities, historical societies, and public libraries in your area.
Section 1 of 4:

Using Free Online Collections

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  1. The Google News search engine allows you to enter the subject you want to research to find old newspaper articles about that subject. [1]
    • How to Use: Type the publication or paper you’re looking for in the search bar or use the alphabetized pages to navigate to it.
    • Best for: Finding newspaper articles when you only know the subject and not any specific dates.
    • This is also the most intuitive method for most people, since it’s as easy as using Google’s ordinary search engine platform.

    Meet the wikiHow Expert

    Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist with over 35 years of experience. He specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials.

  2. The Library has a large database of digitized articles from newspapers published in the United States from 1880 to 1922. The Library also has an exhaustive record of all newspapers printed in America from 1690 to the present, although not all of the articles from these newspapers are digitized. [2]
    • How to Use: Visit the Library’s Online Catalogue , enter a keyword or the title of the paper you’re looking for, and specify the state, city, county, date range, and ethnicity, then click search.
      • Use the Refine Results filter to specify your results and find the paper you’re looking for more easily.
    • Best for: Research on the general history of newspapers in America.
    • The Library makes its newspapers available in PDF form, meaning you can download them and save them for offline reading.
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  3. Veridian has various archives for you to access, from The Catholic News Archive and the Helen Keller Archive for the blind to the Beloit College Digital Publications Archive. These resources offer papers spanning back to the 1800s, giving you a thorough look into history. [3]
    • How to Use: Visit the Veridian Projects page, then scroll through the results until you locate an archive that matches your needs. Use the filter dropdown at the top of the page to slim down your results.
    • Best for: Finding papers located in university and church archives.
  4. Trove is an online newspaper database run by the National Library of Australia. As a result, the site features over 200 million digitized newspaper articles from papers published in Australia. [4]
    • How to Use: Select your interest (Newspapers or Gazettes), then scroll down and update your search settings (Title, Place, Date, Category, etc.) for easier navigation.
    • Best for: Research on Australian history and newspaper articles from a non-American perspective.
  5. Purdue University has an archive of historical newspapers divided by U.S. region. So, whether you’re looking for a paper in the Northeast, Midwest, South, or on the West Coast, Purdue’s archive can help you access papers from those areas. The papers are sourced from places like the Library of Congress, the Internet Archive, and state records.
    • How to Use: Visit Purdue’s Newspaper Archive , select the region you’re looking for papers in, then scroll down to the linked paper(s) or collection(s) and click what you’re looking for.
    • Best for: Finding papers from specific regions of America.
  6. The Wayback Machine allows you to visit past versions of websites and see what they looked like in different eras. This extends to news websites, allowing you to see what papers they published on specific days. The Wayback Machine works by keeping snapshots of certain days, so sites are limited in what you can access.
    • How to Use: Visit the Wayback Machine and enter the URL of the website you want to view. Use the calendar and timeline on the following page to navigate to a specific year and date, then click on a snapshot to visit the site from that day.
    • Best for: Finding digital papers from a specific day and time.
  7. Most libraries in the United States provide free digital access to their archive of newspapers (both current and historic) as long as you get a library card. These archives are accessible through databases like PressReader and ProQuest, which you can access with your library card.
    • The process for accessing digital library archives may be different depending on your local library, so consult their website or talk to a librarian for specific instructions.
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Section 2 of 4:

Paying for Online Access

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  1. NewspaperArchive boasts the largest online database of historical newspapers published since the mid-18th century. You can subscribe to NewspaperArchive by paying a $22.99 monthly subscription fee, a $95.94 6-month subscription fee, or a $155.88 annual subscription fee. [5]
    • How to Use: Visit the NewspaperArchive website and select whether you want to search by location or publication. Select the publication or location you want to search, then type a keyword or names that you’re looking for.
    • Best for: Finding historical newspapers from across the world.
    • This is a good option for someone who wants to do newspaper research all year round, since the subscription lasts for an entire year (even though you make a monthly payment).
  2. Old News is an online newspaper archive with over 416 million pages available from over 41,000 publications across the world. It has a simple search engine, too, so you don’t have to work too hard to find the paper or publication you’re looking for. To access the full pages, you need to subscribe.
    • How to Use: After subscribing, enter the keyword(s), publication year, and publication name(s) related to the topic you’re looking for. Then, scroll through the results to locate the optimal page.
    • Best for: Finding papers based on year and place; finding historical titles from across the world
  3. Posner says many major newspapers scan digital copies of their historical publications and make them accessible to their subscribers. [6] This is the best option for anyone who also wants to receive modern newspapers in addition to historical articles. [7]
    • Best for: Finding historical articles from a specific publication that you’re currently interested in.
    • Note that some newspapers, like the Boston Globe, will require you to pay a small fee to access some of their historical articles. Posner says, "Many of the private companies like the New York Times, Washington Post and others, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, have their own online archives...they've monetized it, they've figured out a way to put it behind the paywall...[but] you can often get a trial subscription to for a very inexpensive price." [8]
  4. Ancestry.com is principally designed to help people find information about their lineage and flesh out their family tree. However, the site also features access to digitized historical newspapers dating back to the 1700s. [9]
    • How to Use: Visit the Search tab and click Card Catalog. Type a keyword you’re looking for in the Keywords field, then click Search. Then, click View Record next to the result you want to view.
    • Best for: Finding historical papers related to your lineage.
    • To access Ancestry’s historical newspapers, you will need to purchase the All Access subscription for $59.99.
  5. The British Library features a large database of digitized newspapers from Great Britain and Ireland that you can pay to access through the British National Archives website. Most of these newspapers are from the 19th century, but the database features a large number of 20th-century newspapers as well. [10]
    • How to Use: Visit the Research guides page , navigate to the topic you’re looking for information on, click it, then follow the instructions on the page to view specific documents (charges may apply depending on the page).
    • Best for: Finding newspapers published in the British Isles in particular.
    • Note that you can also visit the British National Archives in person to view their newspaper collections for free.
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Section 3 of 4:

Finding Physical Newspaper Articles

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  1. University libraries will often keep old copies of newspapers as part of their research collections. These copies will either be full-size or available in microform. [11]
    • You may need to register with the front desk of the library if you’re not a student at that university. Most libraries will allow you to register for a one-day visitor’s pass so you can still use their resources.
  2. Posner says large public libraries may also keep copies of old newspaper articles, especially in their genealogy departments. [12] Most of these newspapers are often available in microform or microfiche. [13]
    • Some larger public library systems, such as the New York Public Library, may also offer digital copies of old newspaper articles you can access online.
  3. If you’re only interested in articles from local newspapers or about the history of your area, the historical society for your city or town is probably your best bet. Call the main office of the society to schedule an appointment to look at whatever newspapers they have in storage. [14]
    • You will probably need to navigate the society’s catalogue or find aid to select specific newspapers from particular dates that you’d like to see.
  4. Thrift stores that collect old books and magazines may also have old newspapers for you to buy. This is very hit-or-miss, though, so only resort to this if all your other efforts to find physical newspapers haven’t worked out. [15]
    • Examples of thrift stores that may sell old newspapers include Goodwill and the Salvation Army.
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Section 4 of 4:

Best Tips for Effectively Searching Old Newspapers

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  1. Filtering your results by things like dates, publication, topic, and region can make it easier to find what you’re looking for. By specifying what you’re looking for, you will slim down the search results and only get things related to what you filtered, so a paper that may have taken you hours to find without filters may take a few minutes with them.
  2. When you’re searching through big databases, keywords are your best friend. Enter specific words and phrases related to the information that you’re looking for so the program can slim down the results and present you with newspapers you’ll more likely need. When coupled with filters, keywords can help speed up your search even more.
  3. AI programs like ChatGPT can be useful for searching through the internet and giving you the results you’re looking for. Just make sure you check that the results are accurate by visiting the provided links and fact-checking the information, as AI has been known to give out false, incorrect results. [16]
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    How can I find old newspapers online for free?
    Gerald Posner
    Author & Journalist
    Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
    Gerald Posner
    Author & Journalist
    Expert Answer
    Unfortunately, many private companies like the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune have monetized archives that are blocked by a paywall. See if you can get a cheap trial subscription to one of these services and plan to do your research during the period when your subscription is active.
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  • Question
    Can you do research in the library?
    Gerald Posner
    Author & Journalist
    Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
    Gerald Posner
    Author & Journalist
    Expert Answer
    Absolutely! The critical thing to remember is that not everything is digitized—we can do a lot online, but we can't do it all. If you can get to a place where physical documents and archives might be stored relevant to what you're writing about, you should definitely go for it. It's a treasure trove!
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about finding old articles, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .

      References

      1. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers
      2. ↑ https://guides.loc.gov/foreign-newspapers/digital-resources
      3. ↑ https://veridiansoftware.com/collections/
      4. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/
      5. ↑ https://newspaperarchive.com/
      6. ↑ Gerald Posner. Author & Journalist. Expert Interview
      7. ↑ https://www.labnol.org/internet/old-newspaper-articles/18689/
      8. ↑ Gerald Posner. Author & Journalist. Expert Interview
      9. ↑ https://www.labnol.org/internet/old-newspaper-articles/18689/
      1. ↑ https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/?research-category=0
      2. ↑ https://guides.temple.edu/c.php?g=77769&p=504008
      3. ↑ Gerald Posner. Author & Journalist. Expert Interview
      4. ↑ https://chat.library.berkeleycollege.edu/faq/228122
      5. ↑ https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS1590
      6. ↑ https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2018/10/26/Pre-Revolution-newspaper-donated-to-New-Jersey-Goodwill/9171540573356/
      7. ↑ https://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=1340355&p=9880574

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