News Resources

Fake News, like Big Data, is talked about a lot. Similar to Big Data, it is not understood for what it is: a place holder to define something that we do not culturally understand just yet. Fake or misleading news/information is as old as written script. The contemporary difference is that people are bombarded with information throughout their lives. People use outlets such as social media to react to news and information with dizzying speed. 

The cure for Fake News is not an app; the cure for Fake News is literacy. The Herman B Wells Library at Indiana has tremendous resources available for students, faculty, and staff. In addition to our many archival news collections, the Wells Library provides the IU community with free access to the New York Times, Washington Post, and our very own local paper the Herald Times. No matter where you are in the research process, know that the IU Libraries are here to help. Feel free to contact me, or just stop by the reference desk for assistance. 

IU libraries has a tremendous amount of resources available for users wanting to do historical research. The News Databases-Historic tab to the left provides a complete list of current offerings to the IU research community. However, you might be in the need of something that is not digitized. Or you might not even know what it is that you need.

Let us say, for example, that you are trying to track down information about a bank robbery in Winfield, Kansas in the 1930's. Unfortunately there is no availability (digitally) of news papers from this time and location. However, IU libraries holds several directories to newspapers that can be helpful in this situation. The Ayer Directory of Publications (known under several variations of that name and now published by Gale) is a wonderful resource for historical research. Using the 1932 version, we can look up Winfield, KS and find that there were two newspapers during this time The Courier (with a circulation of 4,792) and the Southwestern Collegian (circulation of 850). Now that you have that information you can request copies of microfilm through Inter Library Loan here at IU. 

Once you have the microfilm, you can view it using one of the three ST Viewscans in the Wells Library, located on the 2nd floor of the East Tower. 

News resources at the IU-Bloomington Wells Library are extensive. Ranging in formats from print, to microfilm, to digital. Finding the right news for your research can lead down a number of different paths. Do you need current news? What language? Historic News? Contrary to popular belief everything is not digitized. For some research projects you might find yourself using the IU-Bloomington ViewScan machines, which are capable of digitizing entire reels of microfilm for you. For others, you will likely be able to use our news databases. If you ever have any questions as where to find the news you need, please feel free to contact a librarian. 

Here is the guide for IU's collection of Indiana newspapers