Chicago Newspapers

Quick Links - Newspaper Databases - Newspapers on Microfilm - Chicago Newspapers at Other Libraries - Guides to Chicago Newspapers

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Quick Links

Find full-text of Chicago's major newspapers.

• Chicago Defender (1905-1975)
• Chicago Reader (1988-)
• Chicago Sun-Times (1985-)
• Chicago Tribune (1849-)
• Crain's Chicago Business (1986-)
• Hyde Park Herald (1882-)

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.
• 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 Foreign Press Survey
  The Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey was published in 1942 by the Chicago Public Library Omnibus Project of the Work Projects Administration of Illinois. Its purpose was to translate into English and classify selected news articles appearing in the Chicago area foreign language press from 1861 to 1938. Tips for searching.
• 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.

Newspapers on Microfilm

• 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.

Chicago Newspapers at other Libraries

In Chicago

• 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.
• Harold Washington Library (Chicago Public Library)
  The Chicago Public Library has one of the largest collections of local newspapers in the Chicago area.  The newspaper collection on the 2nd floor has a huge collection of major Chicago dailies on microfilm, as well as the Lerner Newspaper Collection (community newspapers from North Side neighborhoods and the near north suburbs from 1920s-1990s). Their Chicago Newspaper Chronology can be helpful for identifying titles. The Special Collections Department on the 9th floor holds some select community newspapers in print.  The Municipal Reference Collection on the 5th floor has an extensive clipping file on major events in Chicago history.
• Sulzer Regional Library  (Chicago Public Library)
  The Sulzer Library has select newspapers from North Side neighborhoods in print and on microfilm.
• Woodson Regional Library  (Chicago Public Library)
  The Woodson Library's Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature holds African-American and abolitionist newspapers on microfilm.
• 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. Most of the CRL's collection is available via interlibrary loan.
• 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.

Outside of Chicago

• 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.
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
  One of the largest newspaper depositories in Illinois, including many from Chicago.  Most titles are available via interlibrary loan.  Search the Library's newspaper holdings by city or town.
• Illinois Newspaper Project Database
  Search newspaper holdings at libraries around Illinois, compiled by the Illinois Newspaper Project. Includes some holdings for Chicago newspaper.

Guides to Chicago Newspapers

The following books may be helpful in identifying Chicago newspapers.

• 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.C5