Small Town Papers, Big Digital Archive: NYS Historic Newsapers

Small Town Papers, Big Digital Archive: NYS Historic Newsapers

January 13, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 160

About this episode

Chuck Henry discusses the New York State Historic Newspapers Project and its impact on access to historical newspapers.

New York State Historic Newspapers Project with Chuck HenryEpisode OverviewDive into the largest state newspaper archive in the country! Chuck Henry, Project Lead for New York State Historic Newspapers, takes us through this incredible digital repository containing over 1,200 newspaper titles, 1.5 million editions, and more than 15 million pages—all available free of charge.GuestChuck HenryIT Coordinator, Northern New York Library NetworkProject Lead, New York State Historic NewspapersWhat You'll Learn🗞️ How the project transformed microfilm archives into a searchable digital collection🗞️ The breadth of the collection: from 1725 to 2025, covering all 62 New York counties🗞️ Tips and tricks for searching the database effectively🗞️ Why this matters for genealogists, historians, students, and curious locals🗞️ The difference between this free public resource and commercial databases🗞️ How libraries and historical societies can get their collections digitizedKey Topics Discussed📰 The Problem with Microfilm📰 Chuck explains why libraries desperately needed a better solution than basement microfilm readers and hours of manual searching.📰 Building the Archive📰 Started in 2004 as…

People in this episode

Guest: Chuck Henry

Topics covered

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York State Historic Newspapers, Northern New York Library Network

Places: New York

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