Related Research Guides
Information That May be in Newspapers
- Birth Announcements
- Engagements, Marriage, Anniversary & Divorce Records
- Obituaries
- Legal Notices
- Advertisements
- Family Reunions
- Military information; records, troop movements, local heros, casualties
- Passenger Lists
- Photographs & Images
- Shipping & Shipping Records
- Social News
- Business news, company locations, personnel, products
- School and church (and other organizations) events
- "Old" newspaper stories, "Fifty Years Ago"
Guides to Using Newspapers
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Newspapers! (Ancestor Hunt)Includes: Historical Newspaper Research - Lessons 1-13.
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Understanding Terms Found in Historical NewspapersGenealogy Bank blog.
Tools
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Data Visualization: Journalism's Voyage WestInteractive site that can assist you in identifying names of newspapers by time period and location. Provides links to Chronicling America for information on the paper and libraries that hold them.
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Understanding Terms Found in Historical NewspapersGenealogy Bank blog.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Campus-wide access to The Chronicle of Higher Education from 1989-present is now available. This includes all information from the print edition as well as other online-only features.
For a summary of The Chronicle's many features, visit the site map.
Create a free account using your udel.edu email address to gain quick access to The Chronicle from an iPad, smart phone, tablet, or any computer anywhere in the world.
Advertisements
Daily News, 1947. Ad*Access
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Ad*AccessImages for over 7,000 ads printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five main areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II.
Associated Press Images
AP Images is an electronic library containing the AP’s current photos and a selection of pictures from the print and negative library along with text, graphic and audio material.
Free Digitized Newspapers
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Chronicling America (Historic American Newspapers) (Library of Congress)A collection of digitized historic American newspapers, 1789-1963. Freely available.
Also has "U.S. Newspaper Directory 1690 to present": a list of all known newspapers, their publishing histories, library locations and holdings. Select "Help" for information about the newspaper collection and for Search Tips. Select "Recommended Topics" for examples of interesting searches.
The University of Delaware Library has scanned selected newspapers and added them to Chronicling America. See the Delaware list. -
Early State Records, Newspapers (Maryland Early State Records Online)Digitized images of issues of newspapers including American and Commercial Daily Advertiser, Baltimore Whig, Cambridge Chronicle, Cecil Whig, Centreville Observer, Ellicott City Times, Kent County News, Maryland Gazette, Maryland Journal, and Maryland Republican.
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Historical Jewish PressJewish newspapers published in various countries, languages, and time periods. Includes Ha-Zman, Noar, Davar, Ha-Zvi, Ha-Magid, Ha-Levanon, Israël, Bulletin de l’Alliance, and Palestine Post.
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Google News Archive: SearchThe collection contains 60 million scanned pages, covering 250 years. Google shut down the project in 2011, but the scanned pages are still available. Search results can include content that is freely accessible as well as content that requires a fee. Browse Newspaper titles.
The University of Delaware Library has scanned selected newspapers and added them to Chronicling America. See the Saving and Printing Newspaper Articles
Look Up a Microfilm Call Number in DELCAT Discovery
When you find a newspaper in microfilm format listed in the library catalog, DELCAT Discovery, there may be more years available at the same microfilm call number. This is usually due to the newspaper changing title. A quick way to check is to look up the newspaper by the microfilm call number.
Use the prefix nu:
Select Advanced Search. In keyword box: type nu: followed by the microfilm call number
- Example: nu:s37
- Scroll down and select Format: Newspaper
Newspapers
Mark Twain's Autobiography
Newspapers are rich resources. They provide a glimpse of a community, cover major and minor events, provide information on people, contain listings of births, deaths, land transfers, and more.
Many newspapers are available on the Internet. Some are individual papers and some are in collections. Full text does not mean the actual articles as they were published. Many electronically available newspapers are text only, no pictures, no ads, etc. Others are digital page images.
U.S. Newspapers: Most Frequently Requested
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New York Times (NYTimes.com)Digital edition. Covers 1981 to present. The University of Delaware of Delaware Library has a subscription to the NYT Digital edition. You need to set up an account.
Note: the account is valid for one year, then you must sign up for an account again. -
New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)Provides full page and article images with searchable full text of the New York Times from 1851 to four years ago.
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Washington Post (Print and microfilm) (1908 to present)Current issues are in print and available in the newspapers section, in the Reference room. Older issues are in microfilm (Call Number: Microfilm 260), covering 1908 to 6 months ago.
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Washington Post (online in library databases)List of databases that include the Washington Post. ProQuest Digital Microfilm has full images but is not searchable.The other sources are text only, no advertisements or graphics.
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The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com)Covers 2005 to present. The Washington Post offers a discounted Academic Rate for U.S. college students, graduate students, faculty, and staff.
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News Journal (Wilmington)Database provides text of the Wilmington News-Journal, without advertisements and graphics. Covers 1999 to present.
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News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) (microfilm) (1875 to present)Call Number: Microfilm S 7The News Journal is the major daily newspaper for northern Delaware. The newspaper has had many different names and publishers through the years. The name was changed to News Journal in 1989. Other names include: Morning News, Wilmington Morning News, and Morning Herald (see News Journal Chronology). Coverage is 1875 to present.
Current issues are shelved in the Current Periodicals section, in the Reference Room.
Note: from 1875 to 1966 there was no Sunday paper (see Sunday Newspapers).
Newspaper Collections/Databases
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Global NewsstreamProvides full text articles from more than 1300 newspapers, news websites and blogs from the United States and from international news sources. Major papers include: New York Times (Jun 1, 1980- ), Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Times (London), and Philadelphia Inquirer (1983- ). Coverage also includes U.S. local and regional news. Years of coverage vary by newspaper. The articles are text only, no advertisements or graphics.
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Newspapers.com World Collection (Library Edition) Newspapers.com Library Edition has 3,000+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond. Dates of coverage vary by newspaper. The site has a feature that allows readers to "clip articles." The database includes two Delaware newspapers: Wilmingtonian And Delaware Advertiser (1826–1827) and Union (Georgetown) (1865). Note: It does not include the Wilmington News Journal and related titles. Titles and coverage are not the same as a personal subscription to newspapers.com.
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Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic)Includes articles from law journals. The news collection contains articles from U.S., state and local, and internatonal newspapers. The articles are text only, no advertisements or graphics.
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Ethnic NewsWatchIncludes full-text newspapers from the ethnic, minority, and native press. Coverage is 1959- .
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Chronicling America (Historic American Newspapers) (Library of Congress)A collection of digitized historic American newspapers, 1789-1963. Freely available.
Also has "U.S. Newspaper Directory 1690 to present": a list of all known newspapers, their publishing histories, library locations and holdings. Select "Help" for information about the newspaper collection and for Search Tips. Select "Recommended Topics" for examples of interesting searches.
The University of Delaware Library has scanned selected newspapers and added them to Chronicling America. See the Delaware list.
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19th Century U.S. NewspapersDigital collection of 500 newspapers representing a broad section of urban and rural, non-partisan and political, and ethnic presses. Includes these Delaware newspapers: Delaware Advertiser and Farmer's Journal (1828-1831) and Delaware Gazette & American Watchman (1828).
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African American Newspapers, 1827-1998This collection of African American newspapers features papers from more than 35 states, including many rare and historically significant 19th-century titles.
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African NewspapersDigital images of more than 30 nineteenth- and early twentieth-century African newspapers. Titles are from Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, and elsewhere.
Part of the World Newspaper Archive collection.
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America’s Historical NewspapersDigital image collection of hundreds of historic newspapers. Coverage is 1690s-1922; issues available vary by title. You can search the entire collection or limit to a publication. Part of the World Newspaper Archive collection. Includes these Delaware papers:
Advance
American Watchman
Delaware and Eastern-Shore Advertiser
Delaware Gazette
Delaware Patriot
Delaware State Reporter
Delaware Statesman
Mirror of the Times
Monitor, or Wilmington Weekly Repository
Peninsular News and Advertiser
Pennsylvania Gazette
Philadelphia Inquirer 1860-1922
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Burney Collection NewspapersA digital archive of nearly 1,270 United Kingdom newspapers and news pamphlets from the Reverend Charles Burney collection in the British Library.
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Gale NewsVaultAccess to digital images of historical newspaper and periodical articles. The collections cover 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers
19th Century British Library Newspapers
19th Century U.S. Newspapers
19th Century U.K. Periodicals
Economist Historical Archive
Illustrated London News Historical Archive
Times Digital Archive (1785-1985)
Times Literary Supplement Archive -
ProQuest Historical NewspapersThe Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988)
Chicago Defender (1910-1975)
Chicago Tribune (1849-25 years ago)
Los Angeles Times (1881-25 years ago)
New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993)
The New York Times (1851-5 years ago)
The Philadelphia Inquirer (1860-2001)
The Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001)
Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002)
The Times of India (1838-10 years ago)
The Wall Street Journal (1889-19 years ago) -
Latin American NewspapersDigital images of more than 35 nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Latin American newspapers. Titles are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and elsewhere.
Part of the World Newspaper Archive collection. -
South Asian NewspapersDigital images of newspapers published in South Asia between 1864 and 1922.
Part of the World Newspaper Archive collection. -
World News ConnectionTranslated and English-language news and information compiled from thousands of non-U.S. media sources, including news agencies, newspapers, and radio and television stations. Coverage is 1995-2013. Information is produced by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS).
Also see these UD Library listings:
Newspapers Online (Individual Titles)
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News Journal (Wilmington)Database provides text of the Wilmington News-Journal; Text only, no advertisements or graphics. Covers 1999 to present.
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New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)Provides full page and article images with searchable full text of the New York Times from 1851 to four years ago.
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Philadelphia Inquirer (coverage 1860 to present)Many Delaware stories are covered. Current issues are shelved in the Current Periodicals section, in the Reference Room. Title: Philadelphia Inquirer (1860-1934; 1969-); Title Change: Philadelphia Inquirer Public Ledger 1934-1969). Library has:
- list of available formats/editions
- More formats
- Microfilm S 410 (1940-)
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Baltimore Afro-AmericanList of available formats/editions.
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Chicago DefenderList of available formats/editions. Coverage begins with 1910.
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Chicago Tribune (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)List of available formats/editions. Coverage begins with 1849. Note: to find this newspaper from the Library homepage, search the E-journals option rather than Databases.
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HarpWeekHarper’s Weekly, the leading illustrated American periodical of the last half of the nineteenth century. Covers 1857-1912.
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Los Angeles TimesList of available formats/editions.
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New York tribune (New York Daily Tribune)List of databases that offer the newspaper.
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Wall Street Journal (ProQuest Historical)1889-1999. (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
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Wall Street JournalList of databases which provide Wall Street Journal articles. 1984 to present. Text only, no advertisements or graphics.
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The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com)Covers 2005 to present. The Washington Post offers a discounted Academic Rate for U.S. college students, graduate students, faculty, and staff.
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Washington Post (Print and microfilm) (1908 to present)Current issues are in print and available in the newspapers section, in the Reference room. Older issues are in microfilm (Call Number: Microfilm 260), covering 1908 to 6 months ago.
Also see these UD Library listings:
Directories and Lists
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Chronicling America (Historic American Newspapers) (Library of Congress)A collection of digitized historic American newspapers, 1789-1963. Freely available.
Also has "U.S. Newspaper Directory 1690 to present": a list of all known newspapers, their publishing histories, library locations and holdings. Select "Help" for information about the newspaper collection and for Search Tips. Select "Recommended Topics" for examples of interesting searches.
The University of Delaware Library has scanned selected newspapers and added them to Chronicling America. See the Delaware list. -
Boost Your Genealogy Research With NewspapersDescriptions of online digital projects in each state.
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U.S. Genealogy Records Directory (LDSGenealogy.com)A massive directory of many types of genealogy records. Section "Newspapers" has lists by city, county, and state.
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List of online newspaper archivesWikipedia article.
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FamilySearch Catalog (Family History Library catalog)Catalog of genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and digitized publications) of items at the Family History Library. To find the catalog, go to FamilySearch.org and mouseover "Search" and select Catalog.
Note: some items listed in the catalog are available at the UD Library and elsewhere. Specialized indexing in the Family History Library catalog may make items easier to find.
The best option for finding newspapers is to use the Place Name search. Search for a city or town to find the categories of records available. Select "newspapers" or other relevant categories, such as "obituaries." -
Delaware Newspapers Research Guide
Includes lists of the library's extensive collection of Delaware newspapers. Most are in microfilm format. There are three lists: by title, by place, and by date.
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Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast MediaLists newspapers that are currently published; arranged by state and town. Description usually tells when the publication began, frequency, title changes, and circulation. This information can assist you in identifying names of newspapers by time period and location, if they are still being published.
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Union List of Newspapers in Delaware (Delaware Newspaper Project)Lists detailed holdings of newspapers in libraries in Delaware, including the Delaware papers filmed for the Delaware United States Newspaper Program (USNP).
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Delaware Newspapers (USNPL)Provides names and links to online sites for all the smaller newspapers in Delaware. Most papers provide access to current news only. Useful for identifying the names of newspapers, but most of the links are bad.