Stop the Presses: Historic Newspaper Collections in and Around Durham Region - Durham's October 4th Meeting

(Jennifer Weymark)

Newspapers are a treasure trove of information for all sorts of researchers. There are vital statistics such as births and deaths, there are articles highlighting the current events of the days and there are stories and advertisements that showcase social issues and community focus. Archives and libraries have worked to preserve their local newspapers so that they are available for researchers. This talk will focus on where to access newspapers from collections in and around Durham Region, the challenges faced by those preserving these collections and by researchers accessing them and some of the interesting ways local newspapers have been used to help tell local history.

Jennifer Weymark has been with the Oshawa Historical Society for 23 years, 22 of those years spent as the Archivist. This role has given Jennifer the opportunity to put to good use her undergraduate work in history and cultural anthropology, while also putting into practice the theories and skills learned while earning her Masters Degree in Museum Studies. In this position, Jennifer has not only devoted time to digitizing and reorganizing the archival collection, while maintaining the day-to-day collections management work, but she has also been focused on filling in gaps in the archival collection through focused collecting practices and original research. She has had the pleasure of sharing her work through presenting at conferences, developing and leading workshops for local students and speaking to various community groups.

Join Durham Region Branch on Tuesday, October 4th at 7:30 pm. This will be a hybrid meeting, that is, both in-person and via Zoom. It will be held in the basement meeting room of the Northminster United Church, 676 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, Ontario (NW corner of Simcoe St. N. and Rossland Rd. W.)

For those joining via Zoom, kindly pre-register at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrduGprT4vGNExhuS1nstq0vT4mSpjkZGa

      

FindMyPast Offers Free Access This Weekend

This weekend FindMyPast.co.uk is making billions of world records FREE to explore. From 7:00 am EST on Friday 22nd to 7:00 am EST on Monday 25th January 2016 dive into the newspaper archive, birth, marriage and death records, crime collections, and so much more.

Go to the website here.

FindMyPast Free Weekend!

It's time to explore British, Irish, US records on FindMyPast! Also includes newspapers and military records!

As announced on the FindMyPast newsletter:

If you are not a subscriber to FindMyPast, they have announced a free weekend 18 - 21 September. If you are a subscriber, they will extend your subscription by 3 days!

For more information, go to FindMyPast Free Weekend.

The British Newspaper Archive reaches 9 million pages

There are now 9 million historical newspaper pages to explore at The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) after the website reached a major milestone this week. 

Product Director Ian Tester commented, ‘We’re thrilled to have reached 9 million pages and have already started chasing the next big milestone. Customers tell us that they’re making amazing discoveries every day, whether they’re researching their family history, the First World War or the history of their local area. Our focus on local titles means that you can find stories from all around the UK and with the recent addition of more Irish titles, we’re becoming a more useful resource all the time’.

The British Newspaper Archive has grown massively since it was launched in November 2011. 282 British and Irish newspaper titles are now online, covering 1710-1954.

45 newspaper titles added so far this year

Thousands of pages are added every week, so coverage will just keep getting better. More than 2 million pages and 45 new titles have been added to The British Newspaper Archive so far this year, including the Daily Mirror, Daily Record, Dublin Monitor, Lancashire Evening Post, London Evening Standard and Sports Argus.

Register for free at www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/account/register to receive monthly updates about what’s being added to the website.

Vote for the newspapers you’d like to see online

Is there something you’d like The British Newspaper Archive to digitise? You can now suggest titles and vote for other people’s suggestions on the website’s feedback forum:http://help-and-advice.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/forums/243704-newspapers-we-should-add-next

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The British Newspaper Archive is a partnership project between the British Library and Findmypast. From November 2011 to 2021, up to 40 million pages from historical newspapers across the UK and Ireland (spanning the period 1700 to 1954) will be uploaded to www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection.

The British Newspaper Archive starts digitising eight new titles

The British Newspaper Archive starts digitising eight new titles

More than 8 million newspaper pages from 1710-1954 are now available to search at The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).

In the last month, the website has started digitising the newspaper archives of eight new titles. These cover England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and include the London Evening Standard, Glasgow’s Daily Record and the Northern Whig.

The first years from the following new titles have been added to The British Newspaper Archive:

·         Biggleswade Chronicle, covering 1912

·         Daily Record, covering 1914-1915

·         Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser, covering 1864

·         London Evening Standard, covering 1860-1862 and 1866-1867

·         Newcastle Evening Chronicle, covering 1915

·         Northern Whig, covering 1869-1870

·         Surrey Comet, covering 1854-1857 and 1859-1870

·         Watford Observer, covering 1864-1865, 1867, 1869-1870

You’ll find more information and links to these new additions at http://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2014/08/07/8-new-titles-including-the-london-evening-standard/

The British Newspaper Archive is a partnership project between the British Library and Findmypast. From November 2011 to 2021, up to 40 million pages from historical newspapers across the UK and Ireland (spanning the period 1700 to 1954) will be uploaded to the website www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection.