In today's news climate, keeping up with the news can be both easy and challenging to do. Social media makes it easy to see headlines, but difficult to actually read the articles due to paywalls.
The University Libraries strives to provide all students, faculty, and staff valuable resources that will help keep our community informed on current and past events. We understand that equal access to the news and informed citizens strengthens democracy.
That's why the Libraries are actively investing in our robust print and online news collection. By providing access to thousands of searchable newspaper outlets and more than 50 databases, the Libraries aim to reduce barriers to news consumption that students, faculty, and staff may face.
“Newspapers are important because they are multidisciplinary resources that capture the Zeitgeist, or spirit of the times,” Scholarly Resource Development Director Gabrielle Wiersma said. “They can help us learn and understand what is happening in the world today, and provide a lens into the past.”
Social Sciences Librarian Stacy Gilbert added that having access to a wide variety of newspapers, including ethnic and alternative papers, allows anyone interacting with the material to be aware of current and past events from different perspectives.
“Newspapers are often seen as the first to document history, making them an important resource for researching historical events,” Gilbert said.
Subscriptions include but are not limited to international news from outlets like Al Jazeera, print and digital versions of the national news from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as well as state and local newspapers like the Denver Post and the Boulder Daily Camera.
A range of databases can also help users track current events through newspaper articles and authors. The Libraries’ collection includes access to multimedia databases such as The CNN Video Collection and archival databases such as the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
The Libraries decide which newspapers to obtain not only by the content, but also by the assurance of long term archival access and use, explains Juleah Swanson, who heads the Libraries Acquisition Services.
“Not all versions of the paper we purchase offer that long-term security,” Swanson said. “Newsprint may disintegrate over time, and a newspaper’s digital site might not maintain articles from even a few months back. Because historical news content is essential for research and teaching, we often have to purchase multiple versions of the same content in order to ensure availability for future research.”
The most recent print newspapers are kept on the second floor of Norlin Library between the east staircase and the Ask a Librarian Desk.
New subscriptions are being added to our online collection regularly to ensure that all of our users have access to the news that affects them. From politics to arts and culture, or business and economics to science, the Libraries want to make sure that you’re able to read more than just the headline.
Ask a Librarian to help you find newspapers or recommend a new title for our collection.