How to Find a Newpaper Article From 1993

Many local newspapers are moving to an online archival system.

Finding a newspaper article from 1993 is a straightforward task. It can be made more difficult or easy depending on the newspaper you are looking for. Often, national newspapers such as the New York Times have an in-depth database that goes back decades. In contrast, smaller local newspapers may not even have their articles on microfilm. In order to find a specific article from 1993, you have a number of different options from which to choose.

Instructions

1. 

   The public library is the best place to find archived newspaper articles.

   Get the article for free at your local library. Ask the reference librarian for help in locating the 1993 article you are looking for. Most public libraries have databases, such as Proquest, that access old newspaper articles from around the country. Often, if you are a library cardholder, you can access the library databases from home. If the article is from a small newspaper, the town library where the newspaper is published will most likely have the newspaper on microfilm, which you can view and print.

2. Examine the website of the newspaper where you wish to find the article. Newspaper websites often have archival access to their own articles going back many decades. In the case of the New York Times, you can access full text articles from 1951 until the present. The New York Times has more than 13 million newspaper articles in its online archives. Many are free, but some are deemed premium articles, which cost $3.95 to access. Many large- to medium-sized papers use this pay per view model.

3. Check out the Library of Congress' "Newspaper Archive Sources on the Web." This is a large listing of newspaper databases around the country with hyperlinks. A dollar sign indicator shows those databases that charge for access.

4. Call the newspaper from which you are attempting to locate the article. Newspapers almost always hold an archive of their back issues and allow public access to them.

Tips & Warnings

• Some small newspapers house bound copies of old newspapers at history centers.

• Many library systems have a chat system where you can interact with librarians.

• Be specific with name and date when searching online databases.

• Some online archives can be quite costly.

• Don't buy an individual subscription to an online database if you can get it for free through the library.

• Be careful with the physical copies of old newspapers as the paper can be brittle and rip easily.

References

• New York Times: Archive
• Library of Congress: Newspaper Archive Sources on the Web