Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Big News in Online Newspapers

I received a message this morning saying that NewspaperArchive.com, one of the two best online newspaper sites and the first site I start my searches with, has been purchased by ProQuest, one of the multinational conglomerates that control much of the online information in the world today.  I wasn't able to confirm that by searching online, but I did find several references to ProQuest now handling NewspaperArchive's marketing.

One effect of the situation is that NewspaperArchive.com is currently not available through the Family History Library portal at FamilySearch Centers and Libraries, while ProQuest and the LDS Church/FamilySearch negotiate a new licensing agreement.  (I'm sure Godfrey Library has also had to renegotiate, as NewspaperArchive has been available through its portal.)  It is believed that ProQuest and the church will work something out, so NewspaperArchive should return in the near(ish) future to the portal.

I hope, however, that ProQuest does not change the current individual subscription model for NewspaperArchive.  Most ProQuest newspaper databases are available only through institutions such as universities and research libraries, and I would hate to see NewspaperArchive go that route.
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1 comment:

  1. Janice M. SellersApril 29, 2013 at 11:47 AM

    I wasn't able to contact ProQuest becaue I have been out of town at a genealogy conference, but Jan Meisels Allen did and confirmed my suspicions that ProQuest did not acquire NewspaperArchive but is merely taking over marketing by handling distribution to the institutional marketplace. More information is available at http://www.proquest.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/13/20130311.shtml.

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