ULibraries Research Guides: Newspapers as a research tool: Start Here

How do I read my paper if its on microform?

Microform at the Marriott Library
by Robert Behra Last Updated Apr 14, 2020 118 views this year

Fun with newspapers

Newseum
Through a special agreement with more than 2,000 newspapers worldwide, the Newseum displays their front pages each day on its website.
Best news websites for students
A list of 19 news websites for students of all ages (grades K-12).
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What news sites can students trust? These great, classroom-friendly news websites can give students different perspectives on key current events. There are picks on this list for students of all grade levels with appropriately adjusted content. For those sites that target developing readers, the reading levels are dialed down but not dumbed down. Most importantly, all of these options have a few key things in common: They're unbiased and well-researched, and they dig into a host of topics that students will naturally gravitate toward.
Motorcycle mania: early history of motorcycles
Links to 15 historic newspaper articles (ranging in date from 1869 to 1921) about motorcycles, from The Library of Congress's Chronicling America.
Comic strips
Links to 21 cartoons and comic strips (and articles about the form) from newspapers around the country between 1899 and 1908, also from Chronicling America.

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Common questions about newspapers

Why use newspapers?

In-depth coverage of a particular country, state or city
Reporting on activities of state and local government
Eyewitness accounts of events
Editorial analysis of news and events
Up-to-date coverage of breaking news
Obituaries and other information of interest to genealogists

Why use newspaper databases?

Most newspapers today have a website with current news, and most make it possible to search their archives of older issues. However, the Marriott Library subscribes to a number of newspaper databases that offer advantages over searching newspapers directly on the Web:

Search more than one newspaper at the same time
Powerful keyword search engines
Deep historic news archives
Access to content that costs money on the Web
Find newspapers from a specific region or country

Why use newspaper websites?

Breaking news stories
Extra content such as blogs, info-graphics, videos, etc.
Access to newspapers that aren't in Marriott Library databases

Newspapers' role and importance

Newspaper fact sheet
Pew Research Center. June 13, 2018
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Daily circulation of physical newspapers is down, digital readership is challenging to gauge, the financial picture is grim -- learn about the current state of affairs in the newspaper business.
The Biographer’s New Best Friend
New York Times (2011) An article about doing historical research with digital newspapers.
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The Biographer’s New Best Friend
By STEPHEN MIHM
New York Times
Published: September 10, 2011
How News Happens
Pew Research Center. January 11, 2010
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Do you think you can get all the news you need from the Web? This study looked at news from newspapers, TV, radio and new media and found that eight out of ten stories studied simply repeated or repackaged previously published information. Of the stories that did contain new information nearly all, 95% came from traditional media—most of them newspapers.
How people learn about their local community
Pew Research Center. September 26, 2011
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The data show that newspapers play a much bigger role in people’s lives than many may realize. Newspapers (both the print and online versions, though primarily print) rank first or tie for first as the source people rely on most for 11 of the 16 different kinds of local information asked about—more topics than any other media source.
Local news in a digital age
Pew Research Center. March 5, 2015
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In-depth case studies in three disparate cities (Denver, Macon and Sioux City) show that local news still matters, with nearly nine in ten city residents following it closely.
Understanding news researchers through a content analysis of dissertations and theses
An article by Mary Feeney, published in Qualitative and quantitative methods in libraries, reporting on scholarly use of newspapers for research.
The national newspaper as a tool for educational empowerment: origins and rationale
By John N. Gardner and Betty L. Sullivan, published as part of the University of South Carolina's National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience collection.

Newspapers on campus

In addition to the Daily Utah Chronicle, several local and national daily papers are available for free to students Monday through Friday during the school year as part of the ASUU-sponsored Collegiate Readership Program, in boxes scattered around the campus. At the west entrance of the Marriott Library you can pick up:

The Salt Lake Tribune
Deseret News
The New York Times
USA Today

Recent back issues (the last month or so) of those same four papers can be found with the current periodicals, on the east side of the elevator lobby on Level 2 of the Marriott Library. Older issues of these newspapers (and others) can be found online (through one of our databases) or on microfilm.

For assistance

Robert Behra

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Contact:

Faculty Services Coordinator
Collections and Scholarly Communication
J. Willard Marriott Library
The University of Utah
295 S 1500 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0860

Office: 2110K

801-581-7694

Subjects: Children's Books, French, German, Government Documents, Italian, Juvenile, Languages, Languages and Literature, Latin American Studies, Microforms, Portuguese, Spanish, Theses and Dissertations