- Last Updated: Apr 15, 2024 2:58 PM
- URL: https://guides.chicagocollections.org/chicagonewspapers
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Sources for Print Newspapers
- Illinois Newspaper Project The Illinois Newspaper Project is an excellent source for locating the publication information and the location of physical copies of Illinois Newspapers. One can search by location, title, or date.
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress) This site provides online access to some historic Illinois newspapers as well as bibliographic and location information for all Chicago papers.
- Center for Research Libraries (CRL) CRL holds an extensive collection of newspapers both domestic and international. Among its holdings are a large collection of ethnic newspapers both within and outside of the Chicago area, underground and alternative press publications, African American newspapers, and Civilian Conservation Core journals. More information about CRL's fabulous collection can be found in their topical guide on news sources.
- Chicago History Museum The Chicago History Museum's Research Center holds newspaper clipping files covering Chicagoans active from the 1940s to the late 1980s as well as more notable Chicagoans from earlier years. The Research Center also has many Chicago papers that can be located in the online catalog. In addition the Research Center offers on site access to the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Defender through the ProQuest Historical Newspaper database.
- Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library has an extensive collection of Chicago newspapers on microfilm and available digitally. Archival collections include:
- Newberry Library The Newberry Library maintains a large collection of Civil War and Colonial period US Newspapers as well as a large collection of Chicago newspapers in print, microform, and digital format. See the Newberry's newspaper research guide for more information
- University of Chicago Special Collections The University of Chicago holds newspaper archives for specific historical events including
- Public libraries Public libraries are a great source for smaller, suburban and neighborhood publications.
Online Sources
- Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection Allows online access to historical newspaper content from 129 titles, many of which were published in Chicago.
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress) As stated above this site does offer some digital access to historic titles. Below are Chicago titles available digitally through the Chronicling America site:
- Chicago Eagle October 1889-December 1922
- Chicago Daily Press and Tribune January-March 1859
- Chicago Daily Tribune October 1860 -August 1864
- Chicago Tribune August 1864-October 1872
- Chicago Daily Tribune October 1872-December 1881
- The Day Book November 1911-July 1917
- Draugas January 1917-December 1922
- Dziennik Chicagoski December 1890-December 1922
- Dziennik Narodowy May 1900 - November 1918
- Glas Svobode August 1917-December 1922
- Glos PolekJuly 1902-December 1922
- Lietuva December 1913-May 1920
- Pokrok August 1874-November 1876
- Press and tribune March 1859-October 1860
- Proletarec January 1906-November 1918
- Telegraf May 1892-September 1901
- Zgoda : Wydania dla niewiast September 1900 -December 1913
- Zgoda : Wydanie dla mężczyzn January 1902- December 1913
- Zgoda = Unity January 1914- December 1922
Subscription Online Newspaper Collections
Many area libraries have subscriptions to commercial databases that provide access to historical newspapers. Often guest users can access these online resources from inside the library building but it is important to check with the library about access in advance of visiting. Below is a selected list of commercial products that can be found in some area libraries.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: ProQuest offers online access to subscribers to many newspaper titles of national and regional importance. Individual libraries subscribe to selected titles.
- Readex America's Historical Newspapers: Readex offers an enormous amount of content from the 17th century onward in their newspaper collections. As with ProQuest different libraries will subscribe to different components of the database.
- Newspapers.com: ProQuest offers a "Library edition" of this database that includes over 4000 historical newspaper titles. Individuals can also trial and subscribe to a personal subscription at https://www.newspapers.com/.
- Gale Cengage 19th Century US Newspapers: This collection provides access to hundreds of 19th century newspapers including several Chicago titles.
Books and Other Published Sources
WorldCat allows you to search the holdings of libraries around the world. Check to see if these titles are at a library near you! If not, see if a local public library or a university with which you are affiliated allows you to do interlibrary loan. WorldCat may not include images or summaries for all titles.
Chicago Journalism by ISBN: 9780786441815Publication Date: 2009This history of Chicago journalism is framed against the larger landscape of American media and the ways in which technology and mergers have altered news gathering and presenting. The book demonstrates how daily operations at the newspapers and broadcast stations have changed with the times. Audience tastes and interests ran a parallel course with technology, a sharp decline in print readership, competition in television news, and the explosion of the Internet.
Becoming the Second City by ISBN: 9780252035890Publication Date: 2010Becoming the Second City examines the development of Chicago's press and analyzes coverage of key events in its history to call attention to the media's impact in shaping the city's cultural and historical landscape. In concise, extensively documented prose, Richard Junger illustrates how nineteenth century newspapers acted as accelerants that boosted Chicago's growth in its early history by continually making and remaking the city's image for the public. Junger argues that the press was directly involved in Chicago's race to become the nation's most populous city, a feat it briefly accomplished during the mid-1890s before the incorporation of Greater New York City irrevocably recast Chicago as the "Second City." The book is populated with a colorful cast of influential figures in the history of Chicago and in the development of journalism. Junger draws on newspapers, personal papers, and other primary sources to piece together a lively portrait of the evolving character of Chicago in the nineteenth century. Highlighting the newspaper industry's involvement in the business and social life of Chicago, Junger casts newspaper editors and reporters as critical intermediaries between the elite and the larger public and revisits key events and issues including the Haymarket Square bombing, the 1871 fire, the Pullman Strike, and the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.
