December 2004

Northern New York Historical Newspapers Launched The Network’s newest service, Northern New York Historical Newspapers, has been opened for use by libraries, schools, researchers, local historians, and all others who are interested in the North Country’s unique history. Located at news.nnyln.net , the service features more than 105,000 pages from ten newspapers published in Northern New York. The site permits key word searching and delivers researchers scanned PDF images of newspaper pages with their search terms highlighted. Images can be printed or emailed for future use. "Anyone who is interested - teachers, students, local government officials, genealogists, even newspaper reporters - will be able to go to their computer at home or at work and get immediate access to thousands of pages of materials that tell about the people, places, and events that make up North Country history," said John Hammond, NNYLN Executive Director. Current contents of Northern New York Historical Newspapers includes runs from the Adirondack Record-Elizabethtown Post, Akwesasne Indian Time, Canton Commercial Advertiser, Elizabethtown Post, Fulton Patriot, Lowville Journal & Republican, Malone Franklin Gazette, Plattsburgh Republican, Potsdam Herald-Recorder, and the Potsdam St. Lawrence Herald. The Network plans to continue to add holdings in the upcoming years. This fascinating compilation of newspaper articles is being launched in connection with the Northern New York Library Network’s 40th anniversary celebration, which will be held throughout 2005.

Newspapers Site Already Sees Results Reference Librarian Robin Hutchinson from the Owen D. Young Library at St. Lawrence University has already had a very successful search with the Northern New York Historical Newspapers website. He noted he has lived in Canton for 10 years in an old home that had at one time been such things as a grange store and gas station. "My neighbor, who is in his 90s, was brought up in my house. He told me about a fire that was there in the ‘30s or ‘40s. He couldn’t remember the exact date," Mr. Hutchinson said. "Over the past years I have looked in the newspapers and wasn’t able to find anything. I went to the Canton Commercial Advertiser on the newspaper site and found it in five minutes - there was a full article." He said he used the family name of the former home owners in the search, and the article came right up. He noted once users find information in one newspaper, they can cross reference it in another - which is exactly what he intends to do. "This is bringing collections to a whole new level," Mr. Hutchinson stated.