America's Historical Newspapers Available from the Stanford Libraries
by Ben Stone
Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SULAIR) has recently acquired Series II and Series III of the Early American Newspapers Series (known collectively as America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922), published by Readex.
Series II and III - What They Contain
Based largely on the extensive newspaper holdings of the American Antiquarian Society, Series II and Series III of the Early American Newspapers provide full text searching of 344 American newspapers from the late 18th century through the early 20th century.
The 208 titles in Series II focus on the period between 1820 and 1860 (though some date from the late 18th century), when the number of American newspapers rose dramatically.
The 138 titles in Series III focus on the period between 1861 and 1922. Like Series II, Series III provides in-depth coverage of the mid-19th century and the Civil War, but also focuses on Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era and beyond.
Additionally, both Series II and Series III include titles from the extensive newspaper collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Library of Congress and other organizations. Series II and Series III contain newspapers from all 50 states, including over 45 titles from newspapers in the Western United States.
Cross Searching and an Upgraded Interface
All three series of Early American Newspapers (Stanford also owns Series I) are cross-searchable with the additional databases in Readex's Archive of Americana (all of which Stanford owns: Evans Digital Edition, Shaw-Shoemaker, the U.S. Serial Set, and American Broadsides and Ephemera). Additionally, Readex has recently upgraded the user interface for the Early American Newspapers platform, enabling easier searching and browsing by title, time period, state, and region.
Plans for Completion
Both Series II and Series III are projected to be complete by mid-2008. As of October, 2006, 144 of 258 titles in Series II have been digitized, and 42 of 148 titles in Series III.
Where You Can Find Them
You can find Early American Newspapers under "America's Historical Newspapers" on SULAIR's databases and articles Web page. Select Browse by Title and Click "Go" for an alphabetized list of all titles.
You can also access America's Historical Newspapers directly at:
