Research Guides: Newspapers at W&amp;M Libraries: Top Newspaper Resources

Get Started With News Research

This guide highlights our research librarians' recommended resources for newspaper research.

On this page, you'll find our all-time favorite newspaper resources. For additional ideas, look to the sidebar for further resources broken down by geographic location or audience.

Our top recommendation for...

Locating a specific newspaper, whether online or in print.

Use the Libraries' Journal Title Search.

Signing up for site access to newspapers like The New York Times and the Washington Post.

Learn how to sign up for free direct news access through W&M Libraries.
We currently have direct website access to several news sources like The New York Times and the Washington Post. You'll have free, full access to these newspapers' sites as long as you're a W&M student, staff, or faculty.

Finding a place to start.

Just want to see what's out there first? Here are our most-recommended resources for:

News Overall -- Nexis Uni
Searches across domestic and international news sources; can be useful for both contemporary and historical news research.
Current Events -- Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Provides news related to specific current events issues. Use the Browse Issues button to choose your topic.
Historical Newspapers -- ProQuest Search
By default this searches our entire collection of ProQuest databases. To search historical newspapers specifically, you'll need to do the following:
1. Go to Advanced Search and enter your keyword(s).
2. Under Source type, check the options for Historical Newspapers and Historical Periodicals.
3. You may also need to check English under Language.
News for Genealogical Research -- Newspapers.com
Covers selected dates of papers published both in the U.S. and abroad, starting as far back as the 17th century. Browse by location or search by name or keyword to find news articles, marriage announcements, and obituaries.