On the Same Page: Historical newspapers online through Reedsburg Public Library
Finding a newspaper article or obituary from the past can be a challenge after the newspaper has gone to recycling! Fortunately, Reedsburg Public Library has a number of online sources for accessing past newspaper articles. The advantage of these digitized sources is that articles can often be found with a simple keyword search. Although an all-encompassing source of historical newspapers remains in the future, we have come a long way since newspapers were first microfilmed in the 1950’s. The resources discussed in this article, with the exception of “Chronicling America,” can be accessed through the library’s homepage at www.reedsburglibrary.org under the “Research Resources” tab.
For those looking for articles in the not too distant past, “Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers,” a product of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, is an excellent resource! The database contains the full text of Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to within three months of the present date. A limited number of more historical articles can also be found here. You can limit your search to Reedsburg to find articles from the Reedsburg Independent and the Reedsburg Times Press. If you are missing an article featuring your grandchild on a local sports team, this is the place to look!
New to the Reedsburg Public Library is a subscription to Wisconsin papers in “Newspaper Archive.” This resource is a full text database of historical articles from the more distant past. The coverage of the Wisconsin papers varies widely. The Reedsburg Free Press from 1860 to 1873 can be found here, offering a unique glimpse into local activity during the Civil War. Historical newspapers from Baraboo are covered from 1850 to 1860.
“Chronicling America,” accessed by a simple Google Search, is a free database offered by the United States Library of Congress featuring historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963. This is a great resource for national news headlines! Locally, Baraboo newspapers are covered from 1904 to 1922.
The library’s subscription to “Newspapers.com Library Edition World Collection” contains the full text of thousands of well-known regional, state and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries. This database is a great resource for historical newspapers in Wisconsin’s larger cities such as Madison, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Appleton and Eau Claire, among others.
Finally, the Reedsburg Public Library owns all historic Reedsburg newspapers on microfilm starting with 1855. For newspapers not yet digitized, articles can be found here by date and printed from the microfilm machine.
An index of births, deaths and marriages compiled by volunteers, simplifies these searches. The index can be found on the library’s homepage under the Local History tab.
If you need a newspaper article, check the library’s free databases! For assistance in your search, call the library at 608-768-READ (7323) or email info@reedsburglibrary.org. We’re happy to help!
