Newspapers

The Chicago History Museum has an extensive collection of newspapers with holdings ranging from major, city-wide publications to neighborhood titles. Reflecting the institution’s long history of collecting, the museum also holds many newspapers from Illinois cities other than Chicago and newspapers from cities and towns across the United States.

Use ARCHIE, our online catalog, to search for newspaper titles. The catalog record for a newspaper will display detailed information about the publication, the institution’s holdings, and the format.

The Chicago History Museum provides access to historical newspaper databases for on-site researchers, linked below.

Reference desk staff is available to answer questions, or, email research@chicagohistory.org.

ARCHIE, our online catalog, is set to search all collections, including archival and manuscript material, photographs, books, and newspapers. Individual catalog records will indicate when a resource is a newspaper or periodical.

Below are suggestions for targeted newspaper searching and how to request material you find.

Tips for searching:

• On the search bar, change the search parameter from ‘Everything’ to ‘Newspapers’. Results can be further limited by date range, subject, geographic location, and other filters. 
• On the search bar, change the search parameter from ‘Everything’ to ‘Books / Serials’. Then limit the search results by Format, selecting ‘Continuing Resources’. This will bring up other types of periodicals, such as community newsletters, trade journals, or weekly news magazines. 
• The results page in ARCHIE displays date information related to the date of publication or copyright, not the date of the years held by the institution.
• Holdings are indicated in one of two ways in the record:
  • The Local Note field will list available issues or date ranges
  • The Holdings tab at the bottom of the record will provide date ranges. Holdings are listed in YYYY:MM:DD format. For example, <1901:9:14,16> is September 14 and 16, 1901. 
• Keep in mind that community area names differ from neighborhood names and both change over time. Try both names when searching for neighborhood publications. 
• Search for a keyword or neighborhood name and add the term “newspaper” to the search bar.

How to request:

• An item’s call number and status are displayed at the bottom of the catalog record. Items listed as Checked In are available for paging. 
• Use a blue call slip to request newspapers. Fill in the title of the publication, the date or date range, indicate whether the format is microfilm, and note the call number. The call number might be ‘Newspapers C’ or ‘Historical Headlines Collection’.

The Abakanowicz Research Center provides access to the historical Chicago Tribune, historical Chicago Defender, and the Sun-Times databases. Access is on-site only. 

Chicago Tribune and Chicago Defender (This link opens in a new window)

Coverage includes:

• Chicago Defender, 1910-1975
• Chicago Tribune, 1849-1988
• Chicago Tribune, 1985-present

Chicago Sun-Times Historical Archive (This link opens in a new window)

Coverage includes:

• Full-text of the Chicago Sun-times and its predecessors, the Daily Times and the Chicago Sun, from 1929-1985 

From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, search the Illinois Newspaper Directory for holdings of newspapers in other Illinois libraries. Search by title, city, county, or year. Results include information on the format and dates of holdings.

The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections provide online access to 129 newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries. Collections of newspapers include:

• American Popular Entertainment (vaudeville newspapers)
• Black Newspapers
• Collegiate Chronicle (student newspapers)
• Farm, Field and Fireside (farm newspapers)
• Illinois Newspapers

Historical material often contains violent acts, offensive language or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture and language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the historical record. The Chicago History Museum has an institution-wide initiative to critically consider the language used to describe people and materials, and we invite you to read more about our related projects.