UW Libraries, Wyoming State Library Launch New Digital Historic Newspaper Collection

University of Wyoming Libraries and the Wyoming State Library have partnered to launch the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection online.

This collection of historic newspapers combines the digital holdings of both institutions with a new interface that is more robust, providing easier, customizable searches and better results. More than 800,000 pages are now available, with new content added monthly. To search the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection, go to www.wyomingnewspapers.org.

“This collaboration is yet another example of libraries working together to bring additional information resources to the people of Wyoming and bringing the world to Wyoming,” says Thomas Ivie, Wyoming State Library research and statistics librarian.

The Wyoming State Library has long been home to the Wyoming Newspapers database, which includes more than 340 historic newspapers with over 800,000 pages consisting mostly of newspapers from 1849-1922. Along with this existing content, the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection includes content digitized by UW. In 2019, UW received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to digitize 100,000 pages of Wyoming newspapers -- dating from 1863-1963 -- as part of the state’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program.

“Combining the newspaper holdings of both the Wyoming State Library and University of Wyoming Libraries gives users an opportunity for increased access through a single point of contact,” says Bryan Ricupero, UW Libraries metadata librarian and interim department head of Digital Collections. “This should make for a much improved research experience.”

UW Libraries and the Wyoming State Library also teamed up with the Colorado State Library to launch the Plains to Peaks Historic Newspapers database, a one-stop collection that combines the Wyoming and Colorado historic newspaper collections. The combined regional collection can be found at www.ppc-historicnewspapers.org.

For more information about the Wyoming digital newspaper project, call Ricupero at (307) 766-5615 or email bricuper@uwyo.edu.