Enrollment options
Optional Print Course Material: American: Newspaper Records
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
This course will introduce you to newspapers as a genealogical resource; from an introductory overview of newspapers, and a look at the history of American newspapers to accessing newspapers online. A look at how you may already be using newspapers will be examined. The different kinds of information, from basic vital record details to local news and historical or biographical items will be discussed with emphasis on how to get the most genealogical information by knowing what types of news items will have what kinds of facts and what may require additional research. Finally, you will be introduced to the different ways to find and access newspapers including interlibrary loan, newspaper morgues, microfilm, and online.
Course Length: 7 weeksMODULE 1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction to US Newspapers
What Can You Find in Newspapers?
A Look at the History of American Newspapers
Understanding What You Are Reading
Using Indexes, Transcripts, and Abstracts
Citing Newspapers
Transcripts and Abstracts
MODULE 2
VITAL STATISTICS IN NEWSPAPERS
Overview of “Vital Statistics
MODULE 3
MISCELLANEOUS BUT VALUABLE NEWS STORIES
Local News
Family News
Legal Notices
Land Sales to Pay Taxes or Creditors
Court Notices
Public Announcements
Shipping and Business News
MODULE 4
FINDING NEWSPAPERS
Websites
Strategies for Finding Newspaper Titles & Collections
History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820
American Newspapers 1821-1936, A Union List of Files Available in
the United States and Canada
Library of Congress
Chronicling America
Early American Newspapers Project
Finding Aids
CASE STUDY
MODULE 5
SPECIALTY NEWSPAPERS
Ethnic & Religious Newspapers
Military Newspapers
Labor Papers
Finding Aids
MODULE 6
NEWSPAPERS ON THE INTERNET
Newspaper Research Online
Types of Available Resources
Digital Images
What is OCR?
How to Conduct an Effective Search
Chronicling America
GenealogyBank
NewspaperArchive
Citing Online Newspaper Resources
Resources for Finding Online Newspaper Collections
CASE STUDY