Finding U.S. newspapers at Princeton

Newspapers are extremely useful for historical research, as well as for following current events. Princeton University Library holds extensive collections of newspapers in print, microfilm and digital form. This guide aims to give the reader some orientation to Princeton's holdings of U.S. newspapers, and to disentangle the variety of formats in which they may be found.

The history of the newspaper begins with privately circulated manuscript news sheets in the 16th century, and the newspaper as we understand it today dates from the 18th century. Because newspapers were generally printed on inexpensive paper that quickly deteriorates, libraries have been microfilming old newspapers for preservation since the 1950s. More recently, some libraries and commercial services have begun digitizing old newspapers. And many current newspapers have both print and digital editions. This history accounts for the diversity of formats in which newspapers will be found in Princeton's collections.

Table of contents

• Current newspapers: late 20th & 21st century
• 20th century newspapers
• 19th century newspapers
• 18th century newspapers
• New Jersey newspapers
• Other news media
• Frequently-asked questions

Current newspapers: late 20th & 21st century

Princeton subscribes to the print editions of several U.S. newspapers. In general, current issues are shelved in the Periodicals Reading Room. After a few months, most periodicals are microfilmed for preservation and may be consulted in the Microforms room. A complete list of our microfilm holdings is at United States Historical & Current Newspapers (by place).

20th century newspapers

• ProQuest Historical Newspapers Online
  This online service provides searchable full text of several important U.S. newspapers. There is no direct URL to the entire database, but you can access it through individual titles. See below and the list at Articles & Databases: Proquest Historical Newspapers. The papers can be searched individually or in combination, using the "select multiple databases" option.
  • Atlanta Constitution (1868-1939; we have microfilm for 1940-1966)
  • Atlanta Daily World (1932-2003)
  • Chicago Defender (1905-1975)
  • Chicago Tribune (1847-1985 -- note that this commercial version is more comprehensive than the version provided by the Skokie Public Library at http://www.skokie.lib.il.us/s_info/in_guides/Chicago_Tribune_Archive/)
  • Christian Science Monitor (1908-1991)
  • Los Angeles Times (1881-1984)
  • Los Angeles Sentinel (1946-2005)
  • New York Times (1851-2001)
  • New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) (plus 1993 onwards in Ethnic Newswatch)
  • New York Tribune (1866-1924)
  • Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002)
  • Wall Street Journal (1889-1987)
  • Washington Post (1877-1988)
• Alternative press collection [microform]. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microforms International, 1989- [MICROFILM S01161]
  Important collection of U.S. alternative newspapers and periodicals, 1986-present. See also the previous title, Underground newspaper collection, which covers 1963-1985, at MICROFILM S00846. There is a printed guide at FilmB Z6951.A473
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
  This digital edition of several U.S. papers covers only 1897-1910, and includes papers from California, District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Utah, and Virginia. It is the first release of the National Digital Newspaper Program sponsored by the Library of Congress. (For a good brief essay on the U.S. Newspaper Program, see Gary Charbonneau's article in Guide to sources in American journalism history, Lucy Shelton Caswell. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.)
• SmallTownPapers
  An idiosyncratic selection of newspapers from small towns in the U.S., from 1865 forwards, but currently very incomplete. We have access through footnote.com
• Paper of Record
  Nineteenth- and twentieth-century papers from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico (plus a few papers from elsewhere). Princeton does not subscribe to this fee-based archive, but individual researchers may purchase access for themselves.
• NewspaperARCHIVE.com
  Nineteenth- and twentieth-century English-language papers from the U.S., Canada, U.K., South Africa, Jamaica, and Ireland. Princeton does not subscribe to this fee-based archive, but individual researchers may purchase access for themselves. There are some free archives on specific topics, such as the Winter Olympics, Titanic, and Abraham Lincoln.
• Dziennik Zwiazkowy was a Polish-language newspaper published in Chicago; this digital edition covers 1908-1917.

19th century newspapers

• The popular press, 1833-1865. William E. Huntzicker. The history of American journalism, no. 3 Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, c1999. Firestone Library (F) PN4855 .H57 1994 no.3
• The Gilded Age press, 1865-1900. Ted Curtis Smythe. The history of American journalism, no. 4 Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003. Firestone Library (F) PN4855 .H57 1994 no.4

Major collections of 19th century newspapers in digital or microform editions:

• Nineteenth Century U. S. Newspaper Digital Archive
  Digital archive of U.S. newspapers from the 19th century. Ongoing, check the title list for coverage.
• Hispanic American Newspapers 1808-1920
  This is part of the America's Historical Newspapers collection, but can be searched as a separate collection as well.
• African American Newspapers: The 19th Century
  Complete text of the major African-American newspapers published in the United States during the 19th century.
• Liberator (1831-1865)
  Full text of the weekly abolitionist newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts by William Lloyd Garrison.
• Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1902)
  Digitized version, from the Brooklyn Public Library.
• Negro Newspaper Microfilm Series
  A collection of African-American newspapers published in the 19th and early 20th centuries. MICROFILM S01557
• The Civil War [electronic resource]: a newspaper perspective
  Coverage of the Civil War from November 1860-April 1865 from the Charleston Mercury, the New York Herald, and the Richmond Enquirer.
• Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines includes nearly 50 American & British newspapers and periodicals published during the American Civil War, 1860-1865.
• Niles Weekly Register (1814-1849) is included in American Periodical Series Online [see below for more information]
• We have good holdings in 19th-century newspapers from the western states. Check the listing at U.S. Historical & Current Newspapers [http://firestone.princeton.edu/microforms/npuslist/npusga.html] by state.

18th century newspapers

The best recent summaries of the history of newspapers in America in the 18th century are:

• The early American press, 1690-1783 Wm. David Sloan and Julie Hedgepeth Williams. The history of American journalism, no. 1. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. Firestone Library (F) PN4855 .H57 1994 no. 1
• The press of the young Republic, 1783-1833.Carol Sue Humphrey. The history of American journalism, no. 2. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996. Firestone Library (F) Call Number: PN4855 .H57 1994 no.2

Major collections of 18th century newspapers in digital or microform editions:

• America's Historical Newspapers [digital; we also have the microfilm collection on which the digital project is based (Microfilm S00973)]
  Based on Clarence Brigham's History and bibliography of American newspapers, 1690-1820, this microfilm collection includes close to 1000 papers published in America from the 18th century through the mid-19th century. See Title List by State and detailed descriptions of selected titles. Digitization is ongoing, so we may have papers on microfilm that are not yet available in the digital edition. Search the Main Catalog for Keyword = "Early American Newspapers" for a complete list.
• Pennsylvania Gazette (1728-1800)
  Published in Philadelphia from 1728 through 1800, The Pennsylvania Gazette is often described as "the New York Times of the 18th century," and is the paper that was published by Benjamin Franklin.

New Jersey newspapers

For advice on locating Trenton papers, see Access to Trenton Newspapers. Note that Times of Trenton is online starting with 1993. And see also U.S. Historical & Current Newspapers: New Jersey for our microfilm holdings of NJ papers. You may also wish to consult:

Directory of New Jersey newspapers, 1765-1970. Ed. William C. Wright, Paul A. Stellhorn. Trenton : New Jersey Historical Commission, 1977.
Social Science Reference Center (SSRC) Z6952.N54 D57

The Local Express, a Princeton newspaper published in the 1930's, has been digitized by Princeton University Library. See Local Express at http://diglib.princeton.edu.

Other news media

Radio, television, and Internet news supplement (or replace) print news media starting in the mid-20th century. Particularly for research on events in the late 20th and early 21st century, you may wish to consult:

• FACTS.com (1940+)
  Provides digest of major news stories around the world.
• Vanderbilt Television News Archive
• Einstein, Daniel. Special edition: a guide to network television documentary series and special news reports, 1955-1979. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1987.
  Social Science Reference Center (SSRC) PN1992.8.D6 E56 1987
• Einstein, Daniel. Special edition: a guide to network television documentary series and special news reports, 1980-1989. Lanham, Md.,: Scarecrow Press, c1997.
  Firestone Library (F) PN1992.8.D6 E56 1997
• AP Photo Archive
• News magazines (e.g. Time, Newsweek -- an searchable archive of Time articles (923 onwards) is available from at http://www.time.com/time/magazine)
• Media transcripts, e.g. radio and television news
  Lexis-Nexis covers network news, including cable news, plus National Public Radio, with coverage generally starting around 1990. Select "News Transcripts." (Note: for wire services, see Factiva above.)
• ABYZ News Links
  Links to online newspapers and other news sources worldwide. It is primarily composed of newspapers but also includes many broadcast stations, internet services, magazines, and press agencies.

Frequently-asked questions

• I need the [name of paper].
• What papers were published in [time, place]?
• If Princeton doesn't have the newspaper I need, how can I get it?
• I need circulation figures for [name of paper].
• I need a paper with a [conservative/liberal/religious/ethnic/etc.] perspective.
• Is there an index to ...?
• Where else should I look ...?

If you know the name of the newspaper you need

All our print and microfilm newspaper holdings, and many of our digital newspaper holdings, are included in the Main Catalog. For microfilm, see the list at U.S. Historical & Current Newspapers [http://firestone.princeton.edu/microforms/npuslist/npus.html].

If you do not know the name of the newspaper you need

To identify U.S. papers from a particular time and place, consult:

• Chronicling America: Newspaper Directory
  Searchable list of U.S. newspapers maintained by the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program. Readers should keep in mind that this directory lists only print and microform editions, plus the few digital editions created by the NDNP. Many of the papers listed in this directory are also available through subscription services such as America's Historical Newspapers.
• Brigham, Clarence Saunders. History and bibliography of American newspapers, 1690-1820. Worcester, Mass.: American Antiquarian Society, 1947-1961.
  General and Humanities Ref. (DR): Ready Reference Z6951 .B86
• Gregory, Wilfrid. American newspapers, 1821-1936: a union list of files available in the United States and Canada. New York: Kraus Reprint Copr., 1967.
  General and Humanities Ref. (DR): Ready Reference Oversize Z6951 .A498 1967q
• Lathem, Edward Connery. Chronological tables of American newspapers, 1690-1820; being a tabular guide to holdings of newspapers published in America through the year 1820. [Worcester, Mass.] American Antiquarian Society [c1972]
  General and Humanities Reference (DR) Z6951 .L3
  Very useful summary of the papers listed in Brigham; arranged year-by-year for each state.
• A check list of American eighteenth century newspapers in the Library of Congress. Originally compiled by John Van Ness Ingram. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1936. General and Humanities Reference (DR) Z6951 .U47
• Newspapers in microform. [Compiled and edited by the Catalog Publication Division, Library of Congress]. Washington: The Library, 1973-1983.
  General and Humanities Reference (DR) Z6945 .N754
  Lists the newspapers held in microform by the Library of Congress [and other institutions -- code list where?] at the time of publication.
• American Indian and Alaska native newspapers and periodicals. Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr. and James W. Parins. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1983-
  Firestone Library (F) PN4883 .L57 1983
• Bibliographic checklist of African American newspapers. Barbara K. Henritze. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co., c1995
  General and Humanities Ref. (DR): Ready Reference. Z6944.N39 H46 1995
• Encyclopedic directory of ethnic newspapers and periodicals in the United States. Lubomyr R. Wynar and Anna T. Wynar. Littleton, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1976.
  General and Humanities Reference (DR) Z6953.5.A1 W94 1976 [Note: only lists items in print as of 1976.]

How to obtain newspapers not held by Princeton

If Princeton does not hold the newspaper you need, you may be able to obtain microfilm of the paper through Interlibrary Loan. In particular, many newspapers are available on microfilm from the Center for Research Libraries, an organization of which Princeton is a member. CRL collects not only mainstream U.S. papers, but also U.S. ethnic papers (searchable by ethnic group in their online catalog) and foreign newspapers. There is a printed catalog of CRL's holdings as of 1978:
The Center for Research Libraries catalogue--newspapers. Chicago: The Center, 1978. General and Humanities Reference (DR) Z6945 .xC533 1978

The Library of Congress, state archives and libraries, local historical societies, and some large public libraries have substantial collections of local U.S. newspapers, in print and in microfilm, often including titles available nowhere else. The New York Public Library also has a substantial collection of newspapers. Much of this material is not available through Interlibrary Loan, so you must travel to the archive or library to see the paper you need. To find out where you might find a specific newspaper, check Worldcat or one of the guides listed above.

A useful (but dated) guide to several important newspaper collections is:
Untapped sources: America’s newspaper archives and histories. Prepared for the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Newspaper History Task Force by the Gannett Foundation Media Center at Columbia University in the City of New York; written by Jon Vanden Heuvel; edited by Craig LaMay and Martha FitzSimon. [New York: Columbia University; 1991.]
General and Humanities Reference (DR) Z6951 .V26

Ownership, circulation and political orientation

Concrete information about a newspaper's ownership, circulation, and readership can be elusive. First, search for a book or article on the paper in which you are interested. Otherwise, consult a general directory of newspapers and periodicals for the period of interest:

• Annual directories of U.S. newspapers
  • Rowell's American Newspaper Directory (title changes to American Newspaper Directory in 1886)
    Annex A, Forrestal 0404.79 -- this directory was published annually from 1869-1908, but we have only 1872, 1879-1880, and 1897
    In 1909, Rowell's directory was absorbed by the competing Ayer's American Newspaper Annual (1880-1909), which then became
  • Ayer Directory of newspapers and periodicals
    N.W. Ayer & Son's directory of newspapers and periodicals (1869-1919)
    Digital edition provided by the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program.
    N.W. Ayer & Son's directory of newspapers and periodicals (1930-1969)
    Annex A, Forrestal 0404.137
    Library has: 1936-1968 [lacks: 1944,1966]
    The title changed to Ayer directory, newspapers, magazines, and trade publications for 1970-1971 (RECAP: Z6951.A97) and then to RECAP: Use recap button to request Call Number: Z6951 .A97 for 1972-1982 (RECAP: Z6951.A97) and then to The IMS Ayer directory of publications for 1983-1985 (RECAP: Z6951.A97) and then to the IMS directory of publications for 1986. (After this, it was absorbed by the Gale directory of publications, below.)
  • Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media
    RECAP: Z6951 .A97 (1987-1999)
    Firestone Z6951 .A97 (2000-2003)
    which has now been superceded by the online Gale's ready reference shelf
  • Working Press of the Nation
    Annex A, Forrestal Z6951 .xW62 (1945-2003)
  • Bowker's News Media Directory
    Continues Working Press of the Nation, 2004 onwards. Latest volume in both Pliny Fisk (SXF) in SSRC and Ready Reference in the Trustee Reading Room.
  • Willing's press guide
    Covers international press, including U.S.
    RECAP: Z6956.E5 W5 (1914-2005); current volume in Ready Reference in the Trustee Reading Room.
• Search the Main Catalog for Subject "american newspapers directories" for other possibilities
• To locate books on the history of a particular newspaper, do a keyword search in the Main Catalog for the name of the paper, e.g. "new york herald tribune"
• The world's great dailies : profiles of fifty newspapers. John C. Merrill and Harold A. Fisher. New York: Hastings House, c1980.
  General and Humanities Reference (DR) PN4731 .M446
  Very useful essays on 50 major papers, U.S. and foreign.

Biographical directories of journalists and publishers

• American National Biography
  Articles on many newspaper editors and journalists.
• Dictionary of Literary Biography
  Online version of (among many others) the five volumes in this series on American newspaper journalists & publishers (1690-1990). Search Authors by Type for genre = "journalism"
• Biographical dictionary of American journalism. Edited by Joseph P. McKerns. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
  Firestone Library (F) PN4871 .B56 1989
• Encyclopedia of twentieth-century journalists. William H. Taft. New York: Garland, 1986.
  Firestone Library (F) PN4871 .T34 1986
• Journalists of the United States: biographical sketches of print and broadcast news shapers from the late 17th century to the present. Robert B. Downs and Jane B. Downs. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1991.
  Firestone Library (F) PN4871 .D68 1991

Newpaper indexes

Before the advent of full text digital newspapers, in most cases the only way to find newspaper coverage of a particular topic was to skim the paper for a range of dates. However, indexes have been compiled for some major papers, including the New York Times. For newspapers that have not been digitized, an index can be an invaluable help in locating coverage of interest.

• Historical Index to the New York Times (1851-1922)
  Also available in print in Microforms Services at FilmB AI21.N44
  Plus useful additional indexes to obituaries and personal names, also in Microforms Services. The index to the New York Times is so famous that there is a guide to it:
  Guide to the incomparable New York times index. Grant W. Morse. New York : Fleet Academic Editions, c1980.
  Firestone Microforms Services (FilmB) AI21.N453 M67
• Bell & Howell newspaper indexes
  Indexes published in microform or print for several important U.S. papers, including:
  • Boston Globe
    Firestone Microforms Services (FilmB) AI21.B68 B6 Location Has: 1983-2003 (plus half of 1982)
  • Chicago Tribune
    Firestone Microforms Services (FilmB) AI21.C45 C47 Location Has: 1979-1981, 1983-2003
  • Christian Science Monitor
    Firestone Microforms Services (FilmB) AI21.C462 B44 Location Has: 1979-1982, 1984-1986.
  • Los Angeles Times
    General and Humanities Reference (DR) AI21.L65 N49 1969-1985
    Firestone Microforms Services (FilmB) AI21.L65 N49 Location Has: 1979-2001, 1986-2003
  • New Orleans Times-Picayune (1976-1980)
    Firestone Library (F) AI21.T66 B44 Location Has: 1976-1986
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Firestone AI21.S79 B44 Location Has: 1987-2003
  • Washington Post
    Firestone Library (F) AI21.W33 W3 Location Has: 1989-1981
• Newspaper indexes: a location and subject guide for researchers. Anita Cheek Milner. Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1977-1982.
  General and Humanities Ref. (DR): Ready Reference Z6951 .M635
• Most papers kept a working index and clipping file called a "morgue." The morgue for a paper that has ceased publication can sometimes be found at an archive or local history society -- for example, the Urban Archive at Temple University has the morgue for the Philadelphia Bulletin. The morgues for several important New York papers are now at the Center for American History at the University of Texas (Austin), at New York Newsmedia Morgues. This page also provides useful guidance about using newspaper morgues for research.

Reference

• Newspapers, a reference guide. Richard A. Schwarzlose. New York: Greenwood Press, c1987.
  Firestone Library (F) Z6951 .S35 1987
  More that a bibliography, Schwarzlose's guide contains historiographic essays on newspapers, journalists, the role of the newspaper in society, freedom of the press, and the technology used to produce newspapers.
• Guide to sources in American journalism history. Edited and compiled by Lucy Shelton Caswell. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
  Firestone Library (F) Z6951 .G83 1989
  Includes a state-by-state guide to archival collections for individual journalists and newspapers.
• Newspapers at the Library of Congress
  Various LC guides to their newspaper collections and to research using newspapers.