FREE Access to Newspaper Archives

I’ve gritted my teeth in anger at the Statesman Journal when trying to access their archives, only to see that their articles are not free. Really? The Statesman Journal has the audacity to charge for archived info? Newspapers for generations have been a great source for historic research and I would think that the Statesman would want to have their content accessible for free. Even the New York Times and The Oregonian have a bulk of their archives searchable for free. Being the cheapskate that I am, I’ve never paid the SJ and instead have told myself if it’s that important, I should just go to the library for the info. Well, I guess I’ve never found an article that important or maybe I should just say I’m as lazy as I am cheap.

But today I learned something that I’m so darn excited to share! Everyone who owns a library card through the Salem Public Library can access this info for FREE! That’s right! No need to pay for something that should be free. This is just another lovely service the library offers us free of charge….Hugs to you Salem Public Library for allowing access to EVERYONE!

Now let me walk you through how you can search for free too!
1. Visit the Salem Public Library’s Website and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on “Do research using our database”.

2. Scroll to you get to the “Newspaper Archives” section and click on your newspaper of choice.

3. Enter your entire library card number found on the back of your library card and then click “Log in”. Congrats, you will be directed to a searchable database FOR FREE!