How to: Search the Newspaper Databases
The New Orleans Public Library offers access to digital versions of local newspapers through two separate databases: New Orleans Newspapers by Newsbank and Newspapers.com. Researchers can access the databases at any New Orleans Public Library location, or from home with a valid New Orleans Public Library card.
Visit the NOPL Databases, enter your library card number, and select “New Orleans Newspapers” or “Newspapers.com.” Don’t have a library card? Visit any New Orleans Public Library location to sign up for one.
- Times Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate (1837-present)
- New Orleans Item (1877-1958)
- New Orleans States (1916-1957)
- States-Item (1960-1979)
A selection of historic newspapers from New Orleans and the Southeastern U.S.
Why Search Newspapers?
Newspapers provide a wealth of information for researchers including access to obituaries, advertisements, news articles, and property information. In addition, searching newspapers can provide researchers with a contextual view of the perspectives of the time period and additional insight into the attitudes of the day. By noting how information was reported (or perhaps not reported) in the newspapers, researchers are provided a jumping off point for their research.
The Times-Picayune
Beginning in 1837, published as “The Picayune;” the paper’s initial price was one picayune, a Spanish coin equivalent to one-sixteenth of a dollar. Citations will refer to this paper as the Picayune, the Daily Picayune, the Times-Picayune, and the Times-Picayune/ New Orleans Advocate, as the paper has merged with many local papers over the years. Newsbank provides full access to digitized copies of the Times-Picayune, 1837-present.
New Orleans Item
Originally published as the Daily City Item in 1877, then the Daily Item, then the New Orleans Item. It was purchased by the Times Picayune in 1933 and merged with the New Orleans States in 1958. This paper was something of an oddity in that it was an afternoon daily. Newsbank provides full access to digitized copies of the Item and the States-Item, 1877-1979.
New Orleans States
The Daily States was published from 1880-1918 as a daily published in the evenings. It became the New Orleans States and ran from 1918-1958 when it merged with the New Orleans Item to become the States-Item. The States-Item was published until 1979. Newsbank provides full access to the digitized States and States-Item, 1880-1979.
New Orleans Advocate
The New Orleans Advocate began publishing in 2012 after the Times-Picayune cut back to 3 print issues a week. It merged with the Times-Picayune in 2019 to become the Times-Picayune/ New Orleans Advocate. Newsbank provides full access to digitized copies of the Times-Picayune/ New Orleans Advocate, 2012-present.
Nola.com
Nola.com is the website of the Times-Picayune that went live in 1998. Researchers should note that nola.com is not a direct web version of the Times-Picayune. There is often content on nola.com that is not published in the physical paper. Newsbank provides access to the text of nola.com articles; images are not included, 2012-present.
A few more things to keep in mind when accessing newspapers through Newsbank: the digital images of the historic papers are black and white, come directly from microfilm, and thus the quality of the image is determined by the quality of the microfilm. More recent issues (such as the Times-Picayune/ New Orleans Advocate) are published digitally and in color. There are some collections that are noted as “text only.” These do not offer complete content, images are listed but not shown, and provides access to the text of the article. All articles are OCR/ Searchable, and can be downloaded or emailed. Tips on searching will be discussed in a later section.
Newspapers.com
Newspapers.com offers access to a multitude of newspapers, focused on the Southeast region of the U.S. There is some overlap between Newspapers.com and Newsbank; however, Newspapers.com offers a larger variety and focuses on smaller papers. Researchers should note that titles available on Newspapers.com may have additional years available on microfilm in the City Archives. Researchers should consult the full list of available newspapers and their corresponding format.
Notable New Orleans titles avaialable on Newspapers.com
- Louisiana State Gazette
- L’Union
- The Carrollton Sun
- The Jefferson News
- Daily Delta
- Evening Crescent
- Louisiana Weekly
- The New Orleans Bulletin
- The Weekly-Times Democrat
Advanced Search vs. Browsing
Both Newsbank and Newspapers.com offer researchers the option to perform an advanced search for articles, or to browse the paper. Explore when to search vs. when to browse, and learns some helpful tips and tricks to maximize relevant search results.
Browsing
Why browse the newspaper? Maybe you just want to look around, get a feel for the time period, look at advertisements, or learn about “this day in history.” If you have a citation for an obituary or an article cited in a book, you can browse and go directly to that issue and page. If you are not finding relevant information from a search, you might want to try browsing.
Advanced Search
Searching the newspaper database can often produce unwieldy results, so it is important to maximize the effectiveness of searches by utilizing advanced search tools.
Boolean Search Operators
Boolean Search Operators can assist researchers in furthering refining their search results through the terms “AND,” “NOT,” and “OR.” Consider the below examples of using boolean search operators with the words bread pudding.
A Note on Obituaries
Obtaining copies of obituaries is a frequent goal of newspaper research. However, keep in mind that:
- Obituaries were not a requirement and many families opted to not pay to have an obituary placed in the paper.
- African Americans are under represented in obituaries.
- Photographs are not always run with obituaries, and are especially rare in older papers.
- The obituary or death notice may only be a line or two. Time period can affect the length and information included.
- Obituary indexes are available on the City Archives & Special Collections website.
Order a Newspaper Search
Located out of town? Patrons can request copies of newspaper articles through our Search and Copy Services
Ask an Archivist
Got a question? Ask an archivist.
Questions are answered
Monday-Friday, 10-4pm.
More Newspapers and Serials
Learn more about the newspapers and serials in our collection held in original and microfilm formats.
This post is based on presentations made by Christina Bryant and previous Archives staff. It was edited, reformatted, and reimagined by Brittanny Silva in 2024.