You can find and read thousands of digitized newspapers online and through the library’s research tools. Some of these resources focus on historical newspapers, while others have recently-published news. You’ll find newspapers that are local to the Portland area, and others from around the world.
When you are looking for a specific newspaper
Maybe you have a citation for an article, or you want to look through issues of a single paper. To find a newspaper by title, try one of these strategies:
Check ExLibris Journal Search:
- Search for the name of the newspaper.
- If the library has the newspaper you want in digitized format, you’ll get a list of library databases that include it.
Or, start your search in the library catalog:
- Search for the newspaper name.
- When you have a list of search results, use the “Format” filter on the left side of the screen to limit your search to “Online Journal or Article.”
- Select the “Click here to access title” link for one of the newspapers in your list. This takes you to a list of databases that include articles from that newspaper.
Once you have a list of databases:
- Look carefully to see the date range that’s included in each database.
- Click on one of the database links to get started. This will take you to the main search page for the database, where you can look for the article or newspaper you want.
Historical newspapers reflect the time they were made
When you read newspapers from the past, you will see language and ideas from the past. Just like today, historical newspapers illustrate the values, attitudes and assumptions of the people who made them. Some articles, images and advertisements include words and depictions that are now recognized as racist, sexist or otherwise offensive.
How to search a newspaper database
When you’re looking for articles on a topic, you are searching every word that was printed on every page of a newspaper (or multiple newspapers) over many years. To help focus your results:
- Use proper nouns. The names of people and places are especially helpful.
- Search for words and phrases that a journalist might have used at the time the article was written.
- Put quotation marks around phrases. This limits your results to articles that have those exact words in that exact order.
- Sort or limit your results by date.
When you find an article that looks good, read it carefully. Look for keywords and phrases that you can use in future searches.
If you don’t find things you expect to locate, back up and reconsider your search strategy.
When you’re looking for a specific article:
- Search for the headline or title.
- Use quotation marks around the headline, to limit your results to those exact words, in that exact order.
- If you get a long list of results, try sorting or limiting by date.
If you can’t find an article that you know exists check to see if the database includes the newspaper from the date your article was published. Some historical newspaper databases are missing one or a few issues. Some databases that focus on recent articles only include a short span of time.
Don’t forget print and microfilm historical newspapers
Many newspapers have never been digitized. Have you checked to see if the newspapers you need are available in print or microfilm at the library?
Ask us!
Historical newspaper research is complex and can be challenging. When you get stuck, contact us by email, chat or telephone. We’ll do our best to help you restart your research.