Our Reference Department has big news! (Pun intended!)Just last week, we invested in a subscription to Heritage Microfilm's Newspaper Archive, an online database that houses literally millions of newspaper pages (in an oh-so-handy searchable PDF format) from 1759 to the present. Included in the collection of newspapers from across the country are old issues of the Canton Repository, Massillon's own Independent (with complete coverage between 1869-1975), and Tuscarawas County's Times-Reporter and now-defunct Twin City News.
The product itself is revolutionary for reference services because it makes researching the past much more convenient, available, and expeditious for librarians and the public alike. Before our subscription to Heritage's services, our staff and patrons were heavily reliant upon microfilm, which is not indexed (save for obituary files) or easily searchable, for much of our local history research. Now, whether you're searching for your parents' engagement announcement in The Independent, your grandfather's World War I records in The Repository, or old advertisements for a Uhrichsville dairy in the Twin City News, you can do so with ease from the comfort of your own home!
To connect to Heritage Microfilm's Newspaper Archive, click here and select NewspaperARCHIVE. You'll be authenticated through our library's subscription and taken to the site's home page. Select the Advanced Search tab at the top of the page to begin searching!
We hope you'll enjoy this new and exciting service!
OK, so this newspaper archive is absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much for finding and making this available. The only downside is I need to set a kitchen timer to limit how long I use it - hours simply disappear. Its pure "smack" for history junkies - SAVE ME! And I need to say that I love this blog, too. Reference rocks!
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Beth! We're so happy that you're enjoying this new and amazing service. Thanks so much for reading. :)
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