Chicago Newspapers

Online Newspapers - Newspaper Databases - Print and Microfilm Collections - Major Library and Museum Collections - Finding Chicago Newspapers at Other Institutions

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Online Newspapers

Search the University of Chicago Library's collection of full-text newspapers. Includes dates of coverage.

• Browse/Search by Newspaper Title

Newspaper Databases

Search for articles from Chicago newspapers. Indicates full-text.

• ProQuest Newsstand
  Provides full-text coverage of The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Herald, and The Post-Tribune (Gary/Northwest Indiana). Also includes some smaller newspapers such as The Chicago Jewish Star.
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune
  Historic full-text coverage of the Chicago Tribune from 1894-1986.
• ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender
  Historic full-text coverage of the Chicago Defender from 1905-1975.
• LexisNexis Academic
  Includes full-text coverage for the following local newspapers: Chicago Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business, and Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Click on "Sources" to limit to specific newspapers.
• Factiva
  Includes full-text of many Chicago-area newspapers. Chicago publications include: The Chicago Daily Herald, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business. Also includes The News-Sun (Waukegan) and The Times (South Suburbs and Northwest Indiana).To limit to specific titles, type the name of the newspaper in the "Source" box and then highlight the search result.
• Chicago Daily Herald Index
  Index to The Daily Herald 1901 to 1964. Does not include full-text. The University of Chicago Library does not own the Daily Herald, but articles may be available through interlibrary loan service.
• Chicago Reader
  Full-text of the Chicago Reader, an alternative press publication, from 1988 to the present.

Print and Microfilm Collections

Sources to help you locate Chicago newspapers in print and microfilm at the University of Chicago Library.

• Major Chicago Newspapers on Microfilm
  List of the major sets of Chicago newspapers on microfilm, including dates of coverage. List of print indexes for these collections.
• Library Catalog
  To limit your search, use the Advanced Keyword search option. Selecting a subject search for "newspapers", plus other relevant keywords, may help focus your search. A language limit is also available.
• Lens
  The Library's new search interface provides facets which can focus your search, such as "place of publication," "time period," and "genre".
• United States Newspapers at the University of Chicago Library
  This database can help you locate Chicago newspapers by date, title, and subject/audience. The database was compiled from a survey of U.S. newspapers held at the University of Chicago Library by the Illinois Newspaper Project in 1997 and is not updated. As a result, some call numbers and locations may be out of date.
• Newspaper Collections on Microfilm at the U of C Library
  A bibliography of major microfilm sets, some of which include smaller Chicago newspapers.
  

Major Library and Museum Collections

• Chicago History Museum Research Center
  The Chicago History Museum's Research Center has an extensive collection of Chicago newspapers on microfilm and many rare newspapers in print, including smaller newspapers serving specific Chicago communities. The Museum also maintains an extensive newspaper clipping file.
• Newberry Library
  The Newberry Library also maintains a collection of Chicago newspapers on microfilm and scattered issues in print, as well as an extensive genealogical collection with guides for obituaries and other news-related information.
• Center for Research Libraries
  The Center holds one of the largest collections of U.S. and foreign newspapers in the country, both in print and microfilm. Search the CRL Catalog for specific titles and holdings. The Center also has an U.S. ethnic newspaper database which can be searched by ethnic group and location. Most of the CRL's collection is available via interlibrary loan.
• Chicago Public Library
  The Chicago Public Library has one of the largest collections of local newspapers in the Chicago area. The majority of these are housed at the Harold Washington Library and the two main regional libraries.
  • Harold Washington Library - Newspaper Collections
    Along with one of the largest collections of major dailies on microfilm, the Harold Washington Library's newspaper collection also houses the Lerner Newspaper Collection, (community newspapers from North Side neighborhoods and the near north suburbs from 1920s-1990s). The Library also receives a broad selection of current ethnic and community newspapers (which are not maintained). Their Chicago Newspaper Chronology can be helpful for identifying titles.
  • Harold Washington Library - Special Collections
    Some select community newspapers are held in the Harold Washington Library's Special Collections and Preservation Department.
  • Harold Washington Library - Municipal Collection
    The Municipal Collection has an extensive clipping file from Chicago newspapers and periodicals on a variety of topics in Chicago history.
  • Sulzer Regional Library - Neighborhood History Collection
    The Sulzer's special collections department has some selected newspapers from North Side neighborhoods in print and on microfilm.
  • Woodson Regional Library - Harsh Collection
    The Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature holds African-American and abolitionist newspapers on microfilm.
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
  One of the largest newspaper depositories in Illinois. Search the Library's newspaper holdings by city or town.
• Library of Congress Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room
  Guide to the extensive print and microfilm newspaper collections at the Library of Congress.
• University of Minnesota: Immigration History Research Center
  The University of Minnesota's IHRC houses one of the largest ethnic newspaper and periodical collections in the United States.

Finding Chicago Newspapers at Other Institutions

Databases to help you locate Chicago newspapers in print and microfilm at libraries, historical societies, and museums. Some newspapers may be available through interlibrary loan.

• WorldCat
  You can use WorldCat to locate newspapers at libraries around the country. If you do not know the title, you can use the advanced search options to identify newspapers by type or location. To help limit your search, select "Serial" and add "Newspapers" as a subject search to your other keyword searches.
  
• Illinois Newspaper Project Database
  Search newspaper holdings at libraries around Illinois, compiled by the Illinois Newspaper Project. Includes some holdings for Chicago area institutions, including the Chicago History Museum, Newberry Library, Chicago Public Library, and the University of Chicago. Search by title, city, county, or type.
• Metropolitan Library System Union List
  Search the newspaper and periodicals holdings for Chicago and south suburban libraries. Good for locating local newspapers.

Print sources

• Bekken, Jon Everett. "Working-Class Newspapers, Community and Consciousness in Chicago, 1880-1930." Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1992. Location: Regenstein Bookstacks. Call Number: PN4899.C5B45 1992.
  
  
• Chicago Public Library Omnibus Project. Bibliography of Foreign Language Newspapers and Periodicals Published in Chicago. Chicago: Chicago Public Library Omnibus Project, 1942. Location: Regenstein, 1st Floor Reference Collection. Call Number: Z6953.5.A1C5.
  
  
• Chicago Public Library Omnibus Project. The Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey : A General Description of its Contents. Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Public Library Omnibus Project, Works Projects Administration, 1942. Location: Regenstein, Bookstacks. Call Number: Z6953.5.A1C52..
  
  
• Davis, Fred. "The Community Newspaper in Metropolitan Chicago." Thesis (S.M.), University of Chicago, Department of Sociology., 1951. Location: Regenstein, A-Level Dissertations. Call Number: PN6999 Davis.
  
  
• Davis, Ralph Nelson. "The Negro Newspaper in Chicago." Thesis (S.M.), University of Chicago, Department of Sociology, 1939. Location: Regenstein, A-Level Dissertations. Call Number: PN6999 Davis.
  
  
• Independent Press Association of Chicago. Vital Sources : A Guide to Chicago's Ethnic, Community and Independent Press. Chicago, IL: Indpendent Press Association of Chicago, 2005. Location: Regenstein, 1st Floor Reference Desk Collection. Call Number: PN4882.V58 2005.
  
  
• Nollet, George Joseph. "The Community Newspaper in Metropolitan Chicago: A Study of Its Growth and Organization." Thesis (S.M.) --University of Chicago, Department of Sociology, 1951. Location, Regenstein, A-Level Dissertations. Call Number: PN6999 Nollet.
  
  
• University of Chicago. Library. Newspapers in Libraries of Chicago : A Joint Check List, the University of Chicago Libraries, Document Section. Chicago: 1936. Location: Regenstein, 1st Floor Reference Collection. Call Number: Z6945.C572.
  
  
• University of Chicago. Library. Newspapers in Libraries of Metropolitan Chicago : A Union List. Chicago: 1931. Location: Regenstein, 1st Floor Reference Collection. Call Number: Z6945.C57.