Finding Historical Newspapers
If you are looking to see if USC has access to a specific newspaper, use the Journals Quick Search box. If we have online access to the newspaper you'll see one or more links, with the dates covered and the name of the database(s) which provides full text access to the newspaper. If we have the newspaper in print or on microfilm you will see a link that says, "USC Libraries Print Holdings."
Databases that index large collections of historical newspapers
Search one or more of these collections if you are interested in seeing how a topic or event was covered in multiple publications:
ProQuest Historical Newspapers Indexes and provides full text access to 20 important newspapers (18 from America, 1 from England and 1 from India)
Readers Guide Retrospective 1890-1982 An index to articles published in more than 550 of popular and leading American magazines.
Worldcat - Search this online catalog of library catalogs to see which libraries have a specific newspaper. You can see which California libraries have a certain publication and visit that library to obtain articles or request microfilm reels through Interlibrary Loan.
Reference books that index newspapers:
These reference books provide another avenue for locating newspapers:
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A History of American Magazines (1958) 5 vols.
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Newspaper Indexes: A Location and Subject Guide for Researchers (1977) 3 vols. - Lists newspapers by county and state, with date ranges and depository designation
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Newspapers: A Reference Guide (1987) This finding aid has information on newspaper indexes
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The Wellesley index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900 (1966) 5 vols.
- Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile) This link opens in a new windowIndexes to journals, newspapers, books, documents, artwork, and images primarily from the 12th century through 1960. Includes multidisciplinary coverage of primary materials in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Engineering, History of Science, Law, Economics, Religion, Psychology, Government Documents, Visual Arts, Music, and the Physical Sciences.
- 19th Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new windowProvides access to primary source newspaper content from the 19th century, featuring full-text content and images from 500 newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. The collection encompasses the entire 19th century, with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life, among other subjects.
- America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1998 This link opens in a new windowPart of Readex's Archive of Americana. Provides access to over 3,200 newspapers.
Collections include: Early American Newspapers Series 1-13 (1690-1922),; African American Newspapers, Series 1 & 2 1827-1998; and Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980. - C19: Nineteenth Century Index This link opens in a new windowDraws on indexes such as the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, The Wellesley Index, Poole's Index and Periodicals Index Online to create integrated bibliographic coverage of over 1.4 million books and official publications, 64,891 archival collections and 15.6 million articles published in over 2,500 journals, magazines and newspapers. C19 Index now provides integrated access to 10 bibliographic indexes, including over 300,000 records from the ongoing digitization of British Periodicals Collection.
- California Newspaper Project (CNP) This link opens in a new windowA multi-year effort by the UC Riverside Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (CBSR) to identify, describe and preserve California newspapers. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s CBSR staff visited over 1,400 repositories throughout the state, inventorying close to 9,000 California newspapers. Although the grant-funded project has ended, CBSR staff maintain and update, when possible, the database they created, which can be searched by clicking on "Search the CNP".
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers This link opens in a new windowThis site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1836-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers and Magazines This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to 45 major national and international newspapers (1812-2012) including 9 African American Newspapers and 4 Jewish American newspapers. ProQuest's American Periodicals database is also included, providing access to 1,800+ popular magazines published between 1740-1940.
