British Library adds extra 1 million pages to online newspaper resource

The inclusion of another 1m pages on the BL Historic Newspapers website takes the total number of pages of 19th Century Newspapers available online to over 3 million

22 new titles cover a range of both regional and metropolitan publications including the Cheshire Observer, the Royal Cornwall Gazette, the Isle of Man Times and the Nottinghamshire Guardian

The British Library’s 19th Century Newspapers project, developed in partnership with JISC and Gale part of Cengage Learning, offers researchers greatly enhanced access to a vast archive of socially, culturally and historically important collections previously only available in the Library’s London-based reading rooms.

Providing highly illustrated materials on topics as diverse as the war in the Crimea to ladies fashion, the new additions both widen and deepen this unique resource, offering users a broader cross section of British society in the 19th century.

Adding to an existing selection of 49 titles, the 22 additional publications have been chosen by leading experts and academics to significantly extend the geographical coverage of the resource including a whole range of both regional and metropolitan titles.

The additions to the archive have also sought to provide a more comprehensive picture of the political spectrum in the 19th century and include the entire runs of two additional major London papers – The Morning Post and The Standard – offering the conservative viewpoint alongside the liberal and radical papers already digitised such as the Daily News and Reynold’s Newspaper.

Free access for for all staff and students in UK HE is available via institutional gateways.