Library Guides: Political Science: Chicago Newspapers

Quick Links

Full-text of Chicago newspapers.

Chicago Tribune (1985-)

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-2014) This link opens in a new window
Offers full page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue, 1849-2011.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender (1910-2010) This link opens in a new window
Full text of the historically Black newspaper, which was distributed nationwide. Coverage is 1910-2010

Other Databases for Chicago Newspapers

Use these databases to find articles from Chicago newspapers.

America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922 This link opens in a new window
Provides full text of issues from hundreds of American newspapers published between 1699 and 1922, with near exhaustive coverage for newspapers that began publication before 1820.

Chicago Foreign Press Survey
& more less...
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.

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Provides bibliographic citations and full-text articles appearing in numerous U.S. ethnic minority newspapers, consumer magazines, and some journals. The database focus is on African American, American Indian, Asian American, and U.S. Latino publications, though many other minority groups are also included.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Provides access to global news and business information, including local newspapers, same-day newswires, company reports, and media programs. Content is available in many different languages, including Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Russian. Stock data and indices are available for 5 years.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Formerly LexisNexis Academic
A full-text news and information service that provides access to newspapers, magazines, news wires, news transcripts, business, and legal information. Dates of coverage vary by title.
ProQuest Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Full text articles from recent years from over 2500 news sources worldwide. Includes the Chicago Tribune 1985- present, Washington Post 1987 -, the Times (London) 1992- and the New York Times 1980- present

Finding Chicago Newspapers on Microfilm

To locate specific publications, search the Library Catalog. Some newspapers not in the UChicago Library may be available via Interlibrary Loan; use WorldCat to search and request. Below are additional resources for identifying Chicago newspapers.

Chicago Newspaper Chronology
A list of Chicago newspapers organized by date. Helpful for determining what newspapers were being published at a given time.
Chicago History Museum
The Chicago History Museum's Research Center has an extensive collection of Chicago and suburban newspapers.
The Museum also maintains an extensive newspaper clipping file.
Harold Washington Library
The Chicago Public Library has one of the largest collections of local newspapers in the Chicago area. The newspaper collection is on ton the 2nd floor has a huge collection of major Chicago dailies, as well as many suburban newspapers.

Center for Research Libraries Catalog This link opens in a new window
CRL is a consortium of North American academic and independent research libraries. Its shared collections include newspapers (foreign, domestic, and specialized), foreign doctoral dissertations, and other traditional materials. Use Interlibrary Loan to request materials from CRL. CRL is located on the south side of the U of C campus.

Illinois Newspaper Project Database
Search newspaper holdings at libraries around Illinois, compiled by the Illinois Newspaper Project. Includes some holdings for Chicago newspaper.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
One of the largest newspaper depositories in Illinois, including many from Chicago and its suburbs.

Is There an Index?

With the exception of some major dailies, few newspapers available on microfilm are indexed. Without indexing, researchers must often review weeks or months of a specific newspaper to find a specific article. While some libraries (such at the Center for Research Libraries) will loan reels of newspapers, please be aware that some libraries require a specific article citation for interlibrary loan.

Selected Newspaper Indexes at the University of Chicago Library
This is a guide to some newspaper indexes available at the University of Chicago Library. Although the Library may have the index, please note that the Library may not have the newspaper.