The second step in our work was to catalog the Illinois newspapers we found throughout the state.
Cataloging the newspapers created bibliographic access to these resources, which enables anyone to identify Illinois newspapers and determine where they are held in the state. If a particular title has already been microfilmed, it may be available through interlibrary loan. Some institutions will lend their microfilm to other libraries, while others offer only in-house use of their microfilm, as well as their original newsprint.
We visited repositories throughout the state in order to conduct a thorough inventory of their newspaper collections. The inventory included counting microfilm reels or bound volumes of newsprint, examining the masthead of each newspaper, verifying publication information, and determining which issues are held at each institution.
The INP adheres to newspaper cataloging policies developed by CONSER, a cooperative online serials cataloging program. These cataloging practices for newspapers have been developed since the start of the U.S. Newspaper Program in the early 1980s.
We provide access to the newspapers we've cataloged through the INP Database. Newspapers can be searched by county, city, title, or date. The database shows when and where the newspapers were published. Underneath the descriptive information about each newspaper, we list which repositories in Illinois have which issues, as well as whether they have original newsprint or microfilm. Anyone interested in looking at an institution's newspapers should contact the institution directly. Use our Participant Locator to find specific contact information.