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Read Colorado’s Historic Newspapers Online

In this digital age, the way we read newspapers may have changed, but the characteristics and qualities of newspapers have remained largely the same. A newspaper is a first-hand creation with information relevant to the life and culture of the community it serves. A newspaper is, metaphorically, the eyes, voice and spirit of a community. History Colorado preserves those voices and stories on the best newspaper preservation format available: microfilm.

Yes, microfilm! Modern newsprint is made from wood pulp and was never meant to last long. History Colorado’s newspapers are preserved on microfilm because that format is efficient (microfilm reels are small), long-lasting (up to 500 years if stored properly – HC’s master microfilm reels are stored offsite in a temperature and humidity controlled environment), and can take repeated handling (which is a good thing because newspapers on microfilm are the most requested item in the Stephen H. Hart Library & Research Center). Microfilm also has an advantage over digital because of its invulnerability to digital obsolescence – no new hardware or software or operating systems needed, just a light and a magnifying glass.

CHNC screenshot browse by county

CHNC screenshot browse by county

But when it comes to searchability, digital newspapers have the clear advantage. For that reason, it’s exciting that the Colorado State Library has launched a new website for the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection: ColoradoHistoricNewspapers.org. The website offers free online access to a database of more than 700,000 digitized pages of Colorado newspapers, most published between 1859 and 1923. Newspapers are often digitized from microfilm copies owned by History Colorado, which holds the largest collection of Colorado newspapers on microfilm.

The new CHNC is great because it uses the latest technology to improve and add search capabilities, helping researchers discover specific information or just browse by title, date and county. Newspapers often serve as the record for birth, marriage and obituaries, and may also contain stories about families that can’t be found anywhere else. One new feature in CHNC is the ability to create user accounts and share content, which is a great tool for anyone conducting large, complicated genealogical projects or other kinds of research.

Another new feature is improved optical character recognition (OCR), which is a process that converts images of printed text into machine-readable text that can be searched. Just for fun, I searched for the term “broncos,” curious to see results from newspapers printed years before the Denver Broncos football team was founded. An October 5, 1887 article in the Castle Rock Journal describes preparations for The Cowboy Tournament at the Denver Exposition: “the broncos furnished for the occasion by the management will [be]...genuine broncos, wild and unbroken.…”

Cowboy Tournament

Cowboy Tournament

Because of the quality of some microfilm images, OCR technology can’t decipher every printed word. Only a human can accomplish that task perfectly, and that human could be you! The new CHNC has a crowdsourcing text correction interface, which basically means that if the OCR is wrong or missing, you can fix it. I’ve found correcting the OCR in CHNC to be rewarding, relaxing and surprisingly addictive. Once you’re viewing a newspaper page in CHNC, click on any article. In the menu to the left, select “Correct this text,” log in or create a user account, and then get started. The CHNC home page has a running tally of users who’ve corrected the most text – see “Top Journeymen Editors.” User Jude has already corrected over 30,000 words!

Colorado Farm & Ranch 19140403

Colorado Farm & Ranch 19140403

The Stephen H. Hart Library & Research Center staff is happy to help you navigate the new website. For information about visiting and research assistance, go to: historycolorado.org/researchers/stephen-h-hart-library-and-research-center.

If you have questions about the new site or to find out how communities raise funds to digitize their local historic newspapers and add content to CHNC, contact Leigh Jeremias, Digital Collections Coordinator at the Colorado State Library: ljeremias@coloradovirtuallibrary.org.