American Newspapers

For individual newspaper titles, check the CMU Library catalog for the most up-to-date access information. Other libraries may have copies of other newspapers. You can use either search Worldcat or the Center for Research Libraries' (CRL) catalog to see what might be available. CRL has more than 10,000 titles from most countries of the world and every state in the U.S., including over 1,800 U.S. ethnic titles and some of the earliest African American newspapers.

ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers: Newspaper Digitization Projects
Find other digitized newspapers

If you want to find names of historic American newspapers for a particular city, and the dates of publication, see:

American newspapers, 1821-1936; a union list of files available in the United States and Canada by Gregory, Winifred Available in print and online
Call Number: HUNT REF-1 Z6951 .A498 1967
Publication Date: 1937
History and bibliography of American newspapers, 1690-1820 by Brigham, Clarence Saunders A revision of a work first issued in 18 parts in the Proceedings of the American antiquarian society, 1913 to 1927, under title : Bibliography of American newspapers, 1690-1820.
Call Number: HUNT REF-1 Z6951 .B86
Publication Date: 1947

Newspapers in Library Databases

Historic Newspapers

Newspapers.com World Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to historical newspapers, dating from the early 1700s into the early 2000s. Contains full runs and portions of runs of well-known regional and state titles to small local newspapers in the United States and other countries, including Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Panama.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full-text and full-image articles from old editions of most major American newspapers, and some Canadian. Dates vary based upon title, but most range from 19th-late 20th centuries. Titles can be searched individually under "Change Databases."

American Indian Newspapers
Nearly 200 years (1828-2016) of Indigenous print journalism from the US and Canada. With newspapers representing a huge variety in publisher, audience and era, discover how events were reported by and for Indigenous communities.

African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
More than 270 African American newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries.
19th Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
500 19th century U.S. newspapers
African American Newspapers: The 19th Century This link opens in a new window
Full text of 7 major 19th century African American newspapers from 1827-1870.
American Prison Newspapers, 1800-2020: Voices from the Inside This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of prison periodicals from across the country into one collection that will represent penal institutions of all kinds, with special attention paid to women's-only institutions. Development of the collection began in July 2020 and will continue through 2021, with new content added regularly.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Chronicling America is a National Endowment for the Humanities/Library of Congress project to digitize and provide free online access to historical newspapers from across the United States. The database provides nearly 4 million historic newspaper pages found in more than 500 newspaper titles from 30 states and the District of Columbia.
Documenting White Supremacy and Its Opponents in the 1920s This link opens in a new window
This primary source collection of 1920s newspapers features significant publications of the Ku Klux Klan along with the Catholic, Jewish, and African-American newspapers opposing the Klan and white nationalism in general. For CMU users, the corpus is fully downloadable for text- and datamining purposes. Contact a CMU librarian to access the corpus in this way.

Elephind.com: Search the World's Historical Newspaper Archive
The purpose of Elephind.com is to make it possible to search all of the world’s digital newspapers from one place and at one time. A work in progress. You can limit to the United States in the Advanced Search.

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic, minority and native press in the U.S. Coverage is from 1960 to date
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
1970-present. Exact dates vary by publication. Include scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books and NGO, government and special reports.

Google Newspaper Archive
Browse or search digitized newspapers from around the U.S. Dates/coverage varies by newspaper. News reports indicate that Google stopped adding content in 2011, and rather than having it's own search page, is now merged with Google News.

Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window
1803-1980
The single largest compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Features hundreds of titles, including many published bilingually in Spanish and English.
Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
An open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project This link opens in a new window
1895-present. Full text newspapers: The Jewish Criterion (1895-1962), The American Jewish Outlook (1934-1962), and The Jewish Chronicle (1962-Present).
ProQuest Civil War Era‎ This link opens in a new window
Nearly 2,000 pamphlets and complete runs of eight newspaper titles, covering 1840-1865, that were specifically selected for the regional and diverse perspectives they offer. The pamphlets expand on individual perspectives of government officials, clergy, social reformists, and others. Newspapers are a perfect complement to these sources offering insights on a broader range of events. The newspapers included in Civil War Era provide a variety of editorial perspectives reflecting different regions and political orientations.
Tartan Database This link opens in a new window
Carnegie Mellon's student newspaper (Tartan) and faculty and staff newspaper (Focus). The Tartan has been the weekly student newspaper of first Carnegie Tech and now Carnegie Mellon University since 1906. This database currently allows searches of Tartan articles dating from 1969 to the present. The Focus is produced by the Carnegie Mellon University Faculty Senate and has been in publication since 1971. This database currently covers the years 1971 to the present.

Current Newspapers

Access World News: United States
Includes current and archived news content from more than 12,700 sources spanning 200+ countries and territories. A combination of global, regional and local news, including a unique merging of news formats (full-text articles, web-only content, PDF image editions), this resource supports a diverse range of research needs across an array of academic disciplines for students and faculty.
NB: Dates of coverage vary by publication. You can use the map search, adding/deleting filters to make your own combination of states.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
An interdisciplinary, international, full-text database of over 18,000 sources including newspapers, journals, wire services, newsletters, company reports and SEC filings, case law, government documents, transcripts of broadcasts, and selected reference works.
Pennsylvania Newspapers (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
Seach and display articles from Pennsylvania newspapers culled from the Access World News database from NewsBank. Exact dates of coverage vary by title, with most ca. 2000 - present.
PressDisplay This link opens in a new window
Browsable access to the full-color print layout of more than 2,300 newspapers from around the world, including current and back issues.
PressReader This link opens in a new window
Instant, browseable access to more than 7,000 newspapers and magazines from around the world, covering more than 120 countries and 60 languages. Create an account via this link and then you can download the PressReader app and sign in with the email option.
ProQuest US Newsstream This link opens in a new window
1980-present. Premium US News content including such leading papers as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and co-exclusive access (with Factiva) to The Wall Street Journal. Also offers one of the largest collections of local and regional newspapers, and is cross-searchable on the ProQuest platform.
USA Newspapers (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
Search and display newspapers articles of the United States of America from the Access World News database from NewsBank. Exact dates of coverage vary by title, but most ca. 2000 - present.

What to Know if We Have a Particular Newspaper?

It's simple, just go to Journals & Newspapers, type in the title of the newspaper and press return! If we have access to it via a database, the database name and dates of coverage will be listed.

History Librarian

Charlotte Kiger Price

she/her

Contact:

Hunt Library 109E
Pittsburgh, PA

Subjects: Education, History, Language & Linguistics, Religion, Women's Studies