Historical Newspapers

Newspapers are published daily or weekly and reveal unique perspectives of historical events. Because they are published so quickly after an event, many refer to these sources as a “first draft of history.” The value of historical newspapers is that they provide a viewpoint that may have been edited out of history books. These articles are often referred to as primary documents, the words (or images) of someone that witnessed an event.  

Such firsthand accounts may provide a useful source for many issues and can add depth to an assignment. For this reason, the library subscribes to several databases of historical newspapers and historical societies across the US digitized smaller regional newspapers. The list below highlights some of these sources available through the library and on the internet. 

Many States have digitized local newspapers of historical significance. A representative selection are listed below:

-California Digital Newspaper Collection

-Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection

-Kansas Digital Newspapers

-Missouri Digital Newspaper Project:

-Historical Nebraska Newspapers

-Texas Digital Newspaper Program

-Utah Digital Newspapers