Don't worry, you can use this guide to identify appropriate databases by time period or country/region.
If appears next to a database this means off-campus access is only available to students and staff via Virtual Private Network (VPN).
If you want to view an A-Z list of all newspaper and magazine databases you can: Newspapers & Magazines A-Z.
Click on the relevant tab to find historical newspaper and magazine databases sorted by time period.
Some databases will be found on more than one tab.
This lists the historical newspaper and magazine databases where coverage comes into the 21st century. While some of these will come up to date many of them will only cover a limited number of years in this century. To see the databases that allow you to search current news go to Current newspapers and news sources.
Click on the relevant tab to find the historical newspaper and magazine databases sorted by country or region.
Some databases will be found on more than one tab.
Many of the historical newspaper and magazine databases the Library has access to are from the same platforms or publishers.
In these cases there may be options for you to cross-search across multiple databases at one time.
Click on the tabs to find out more about the cross-search options available.
The Library has access to a large number (over 50) of historical newspaper databases via ProQuest Historical Newspapers, as well as several magazine archives.
ProQuest allows you to cross-search across all, or a selection of, the ProQuest databases the Library has access to.
Choose "Historical Newspapers" from the More drop-down menu above the search box to cross-search across all historical newspaper databases the Library has access to.
Or alternatively, click on "Databases" in the top menu to see a full list of databases and then tick/untick the boxes of the databases you do or don't want to search, this option allows you to also search their magazine databases.
Gale are a major publisher in primary source databases and the Library has access to a wide range of primary source databases from them, including 10 U.K. newspaper and magazine databases and Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers. Gale Primary Sources allows you to cross-search across all, or a selection of, the Gale primary source databases the Library has access to.
Tick/untick the boxes of the databases you do or don't want to search.
UK Press Online includes 3 million pages of 19th to 21st century British popular and tabloid newspapers. Titles include: Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Church Times, The Watchman, Daily Worker, etc.
You can cross-search across all titles included in their basic search. However, you can also cross-search across all titles, or a selection of titles or an individual title in their Advanced Search option.
Readex are a publisher of primary source materials for academic libraries. At the library we have access to their collections African Newspapers, African American Newspapers Series 1 and 2, Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800, Early American Newspapers, Series 2: The New Republic, South Asian Newspapers and and some modules from FBIS Daily Reports.
Readex AllSearch allows you to cross-search through all of, or a selection of, the databases the Library has access to from Readex at one time.
Not all newspapers and magazines have been digitised, not all digital versions are complete, and for some purposes the physical version is preferable. Newspapers and magazines published before 1901, or which are otherwise rare, are held in Special Collections, mostly at the Centre for Research Collections on the 6th Floor of the Main Library.
Holdings include:
Many of the newspapers and magazines held in Special Collections can be found through DiscoverEd. However, retrospective online cataloguing is not complete, and it is worth also checking the old catalogue (Guardbook), under the title of the publication.
Edinburgh University publications, including the originals of The Student (which have been partly digitised) can be found through the University Archives Online.
This is a small selection of freely available digitised newspaper archives:
The Library has a small number of newspaper indexes available on microfilm. These are located at the University Collections Facility (UCF). You can request the microfilm from the UCF via DiscoverEd and there are microfilm readers you can use in the Centre for Research Collections (CRC) on 6th floor, Main Library.
The Financial Times | 1981-2005 |
The Herald (Glasgow) | 1949-67, 1971-78 |
The Independent | 1994 |
The Scotsman | 1987-89 |
The Times | 1906-July 2013 |