Created by the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project

Chronicling America:Searching Historic

American Newspapers1836-1922

Extra! Extra!

The news from a

100 years ago!

Type in to your browser: chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

Your screen should look like this

What is Chronicling America?

• Online tool to search historic newspapers from across the country.

• 8 million pages from 1836-1922 available to search.

• You can search, save, download, print, and clip articles for free.

Historic newspapers are a

great primary source!

What’s a primary source?

Why are newspapers a good primary

source?

What we will look at today:

Search Bar

100 Years Ago Today

How to search?

We’ll learn two ways:

• Simple Search

• Advanced Search

Important: The search technology searches the newspaper text, so think about historic language!

Search Pages Tab

Pick a state or search all states.

Pick a year range or specific year.

Remember, years are between 1836-1922.

Enter a search word(s) here.

Let’s try a simple search!

The Search Pages tool will scan the newspaper text to

find results.

1. Scroll down to find Vermont

2. Keep the year range

as it is

3. Type in the word: library4. Click on Go.

c

45,506 results!!

“Library” highlighted in

red on the newspaper

page.

The search tool searches the text to find the word/phrase you entered. In this case, “library.”

Let’s click on a page result & test it out!

Click on these two buttons to zoom in and out. Or, scroll with your mouse or fingers.

Click on this to go to full screen.

This shows which page of the newspaper is shown. Shown here is page 3. Use the arrows to go from page to page.

Use these arrows to browse surrounding newspaper issues.

Let’s try the clipping tool!

1. Zoom in to something you are interested in clipping.

2. Click on the scissor tool. 3. You can then print or save the image.

The red box shows what will be clipped.

Let’s see how the Advanced Search works.

Activity: Try your own simple search.

1. Try a simple search with one or two words. Use Vermont as the state.

2. Find an interesting newspaper page in your results.

3. Try clipping the article, advertisement, and/or image using the clipping tool.

4. Write down one neat thing you discovered on the newspaper page.

5. Be ready to share with the class your discovery!

Remember that people didn’t have the same

vocabulary as today when entering search terms!

Wahoo! You’ve learned how to use an awesome online resource!

Time for a break!

Extension Activity: 100 Years Ago Today 1. Go back to the homepage: chroniclingamerica.loc.gov2. Find the “100 Years Ago Today” box in the middle of the page. 3. Browse through newspapers published on this date 100 years ago. 4. Find an interesting article or headline!

Use the arrow tab to go through the papers.

Extension Activity: Explore Vermont Newspapers through a Google Map

1. Go to: http://library.uvm.edu/vtnp/wordpress/

2. Scroll down to the Google Map.

3. Click on “View Vermont Digital Newspapers in a larger map.”

Click on a marker to view the newspapers in that town on the Chronicling America website.

Resources

• Chronicling America: chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

• Vermont Digital Newspaper Project Website: library.uvm.edu/vtnp

• Vermont Digital Newspaper Project Education Resources