Newspapers at the BPL: Historical Newspapers — Microfilm
Newspaper resources at the Boston Public Library and beyond.
Boston Newspapers
- Boston Newspapers Generally filed by the first significant word in title, skipping the word Boston and time words (e.g. daily, evening, weekly, Saturday, etc.). Due to mergers, splits, title changes and other issues they are not always in exact alphabetical order.
- Boston Newspaper Timeline Chronological chart of major Boston daily newspapers from 1820 to present.
- Boston Newspaper Circulation This chart shows circulation figures for selected years for Boston newspapers and other frequent publications, generally excluding monthly and quarterly periodicals. Starting with the earliest figures available for 1826 and 1849, the chart then has data for each decade from 1870-1960.
- Boston Neighborhood Newspapers Includes newspapers covering the neighborhoods of Allston, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Brighton, Charlestown, Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Fenway, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill, North End, Roslindale, Roxbury, South Boston, South End, West End, and West Roxbury.
Massachusetts Newspapers
- Massachusetts Newspapers on MicrofilmMassachusetts newspapers on microfilm arranged by town, and then more or less alphabetically
- Massachusetts newspapers in MyHeritageHandy list of titles and dates that are available through our subscription to MyHeritage, in addition to microfilm
- Town and County Map of MassachusettsWhen a town does not have a newspaper for the time period in which you are interested, this map from the State can be useful in determining the neighboring towns.
- Archaic Community, District, Neighborhood Section and Village, Names in MassachusettsThis site helps when a community is smaller than a town, or when a community has changed its name.
United States Newspapers
- U.S. Newspapers These are the United States newspapers on microfilm at the Boston Public Library, from states other than Massachusetts. Unless otherwise noted the newspapers are dailies. (PDF)
- Ethnic Newspapers on Microfilm Mainly US Ethnic newspapers arranged by group, state, city and title
- Early American Newspapers Mainly Pre-1820 newspapers published in microfilm or microprint by Readex
Foreign Newspapers
- Foreign Newspapers Foreign newspapers on microfilm at the Boston Public Library are listed by country, then by city.
What is Microfilm?
Microfilm is an analog storage medium that predates digitization which involves reducing the size of materials and capturing on film for archiving, preservation and use.
How Does Microfilm Work?
We have 6 ScanPro 3000 digital scanners for reading, printing or downloading images from microfilm, microfiche or micro-opaque to email or a USB drive. Paper copies cost $.20 per page, while digital copies are free. Staff will help get you acquainted with the machines which usually are available without a reservation.
