The New York Times Archive

The New York Times Article Archive allows you to search for articles in the New York Times back to 1851. Most articles from 1851 through 1922 (which are in the public domain) are available free here. The Archive charges for articles since 1923, but you can use the Archive to identify articles of interest, then use the microfilm available in Lewis library to view and print articles.

There are several ways for you to search for and access New York Times articles, depending on the date:

• Full text (without graphics) of Times articles, from June 1980 to today’s issue, is available in the ProQuest Newspapers database in GALILEO. This is the simplest way to search the Times since 1980 from a campus computer. 
• The New York Times Archive 1851-1980 allows you to search the full text of most articles published between these dates. The “Advanced Search” allows you to narrow the date range and refine your search. If the article is from 1922 or earlier, click on “View Full Article” to get a PDF—for example, this article from June 1852, which lists the Whig National Committee, including a delegate from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln. 
• If the Archive cites an article from 1923-1980, but asks you to pay for it, consult the reference librarian, who can retrieve the microfilm for you and show you how to view and print your article for free. 

We have the New York Times on microfilm for 1851 through 2000, so if you have a citation, want to browse the paper for a date (or range of dates), or need information not in the Archive (such as stock tables), consult the reference librarian. 

The New York Times Archive allows you to search the full text, but in some cases print indexes may help you find what you need more easily.

• The New York Times Obituary Index 1858-1968 (in the reference collection, call number REF CT 213 .N47) enables you to locate obituaries for these years quickly. 
• The New York Times Index, which we have for 1851-1999, is cumbersome, but it may help you trace the course of an ongoing story (e.g., the sinking of the Titanic or D-Day) and locate useful articles more rapidly than the online Archive, which works only if you type words in the search box that match those in the article. See the reference librarian for assistance in using this.

* This blog post authored by Arthur Robinson, reference and interlibrary loan librarian.