Chronicling America: A Treasure at the Library of Congress

One of the best free websites for finding and using American newspapers is Chronicling America, the digital collection at the Library of Congress (LOC). The site has been up and running for years, but a few years ago, the LOC added an interactive map and a historical timeline that make the collection so much more valuable. With the interactive map, the search functionality of the site is enhanced by the ability to pinpoint exact locations for the newspapers in the collection and to be able to access the newspapers according to publication date.

All the newspapers in the Chronicling America collection are in the public domain. It has always been possible to search the newspapers, but this interactive map and timeline are of particular importance “to researchers who know the approximate date range(s) and geographic area(s) they want to research but don’t know the extent of coverage (if any) available for digitized newspapers available in Chronicling America.” 

The map is updated weekly, and you can access it here. https://loc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/media/index.html?appid=3c6a392554d545bdb1c083348ef56458&center=-97.5126;39.6376&level=3

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Getting Started

On the left side (See above): Click on the light bulb at the top to read about the map and obtain some brief directions for how to use it. 

The map has a zoom control that allows narrowing in for tighter focus. “Users can click on a dot to see the details about a newspaper and follow the links to view digitized issues in Chronicling America. In specific areas with multiple newspaper publications, dots will typically appear clustered around the city center.” Zoom in and out with the plus or minus signs (under the light bulb), or use the scroll wheel on your mouse. Use your mouse pointer to click and drag the map so you can see your state(s). Then click on dots in the areas of interest. (You may have to make the dots a bit larger, so your mouse pointer triggers the dots to open.) 

At the very bottom left on the map (black arrow to the left of the image above), there is a tiny clock. If you click on it, you will open a timeline. Use your mouse to adjust the blue part of the bar to the date range you are interested in. The dots will fade away from areas where there are no newspapers and remain for those where papers are in the LOC collection. 

Shown in the Missouri map below, we set the timeline from about 1818 to 1872, and the blue dots show Missouri newspapers available on the website. Narrowing in on Hermann, Missouri, shows the Hermanner Volksblatt was published during our selected time period. To go directly to that newspaper, click on the link in the text box that opens.

This is such a rich site to explore, and the ability to zoom in on your location and narrow down to a time frame is a great enhancement. We caution you not to start this right before dinner or bedtime, as there is no telling when you will get up from your computer! Consider yourself forewarned. 😊