Papers Past adds more digitised newspapers
Ever wondered what newspapers reported in the late 1800s? Read all about it in Papers Past.
Papers Past contains 1.3 million, now fully searchable, pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection ranges from 1839 to 1932 and includes 52 varieties of New Zealand publications.
We added seven new titles this week, including the Ellesmere Guardian, Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Oxford Observer and Canterbury Democrat, Victoria Times, NZ Truth, Kai Tiaki: the Journal of the Nurses of NZ and more issues of the Poverty Bay Herald.
“It’s great to see New Zealanders and people from overseas exploring Papers Past. A variety of audiences are using it including hobbyists, teachers, drama students and anyone interested in New Zealand’s past.” explained Penny Carnaby, CEO and National Librarian, National Library of New Zealand.
Papers Past is just one of the ways the National Library is broadening its reach to enable New Zealanders to connect with information important to all aspects of their lives.
Jon Bridges, presenter, writer and producer, and keen Papers Past user, calls the website “A clear and wide window on our past.”
To date, the site has been visited 2.8 million times by more than 450,000 visitors, generating 35,000,000 million page views.
The site holds 52 newspaper titles, 238,105 newspaper issues and 14,478,214 articles.
Explore the Papers Past website
Who uses Papers Past?
Genealogists do: “Kudos on the website. I wish I could package it up and send it off to Washington, Sydney and London with a note - this is how it's done!" Jim Galloway, keen New Zealand amateur historian.
Students do: “Our history students are big users of Papers Past” Pat Bellhouse, Librarian, Palmerston North Girls' High School.
Teachers do: “It’s a great source of New Zealand digital information, something many schools are crying out for” Senga Watson, Library Manager, James Hargest College.
Hobbyists do: “My hobby is a website with background information on old New Zealand songs. I’m retired and I can search Papers Past from my lounge in Waiouru!” John Archer, keen New Zealand amateur historian.
