The Washington State Library maintains the largest online collection of newspapers published in the state. The library continues to grow its collection in collaboration with local libraries, museums, and publishers to digitize more newspapers for educational and non-commercial use.
The program was established in 2008 as part of the National Digital Newspapers Program and contributed more than 400,000 pages of copyright free newspapers to the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America Website. Since participating in the program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Library of Congress, the Washington Digital Newspapers program has more than doubled the number of available pages.
Researchers who register on the site will find additional features to save search results for long projects. They can also improve search results on their favorite topics using the crowdsourced text correction feature. With over 100 new registrations in May, many people are finding new titles and learning the history of Washington state.
“These articles are used around the world by people from a wide range of backgrounds. Many researchers are from universities, libraries, and historical societies,” said program coordinator Shawn Schollmeyer. “Users also include genealogists, educators, and journalists. There are even a few researchers viewing the collection from overseas locations such as Vietnam and the U.K.”
Washington State University Edward R. Murrow journalism fellow Questen Inghram is a frequent user of the program.
“I once was a reporter for the Anacortes American, and I took for granted that most of its archive was available online on Washington Digital Newspapers,” Inghram said. “Now that I’m working for a newspaper with most of its archive still trapped on microfilm, I better appreciate how important this resource is.”
The Washington Digital Newspapers program is funded with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Washington State Library. Additional funding for newspaper digitization is made possible with community support and individual contributions to the ALL Foundation of Washington. More information about Washington Digital Newspapers and the Washington State Library is available online.
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime and the Civic Engagement Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians.