Geography

Other Illinois Newspapers the Library has Subscriptions to: 

Chronicling America - Library of Congress

"The Newspaper Title Directory is derived from the library catalog records created by state institutions during the NEH-sponsored United States Newspaper Program (https://www.neh.gov/projects/usnp.html), 1982-2011. This program funded state-level projects to locate, describe (catalog), and selectively preserve (via treatment and microfilm) historic newspaper collections in that state, published from 1690 to the present."

A Few Tips: 
Here are a few tidbits for you to consider as you are searching for information related to yourselves and others. 

Location

My recommendation to you all is to start with the state newspapers for the state your hometown is in, but don't be afraid to venture towards other states if there is a reasonable connection. Maybe there's a notable business/ manufacturing company with headquarters elsewhere, etc. that may be mentioned in the newspaper of another state. It could also be that if your hometown is a border town for state lines it could be mentioned in the other state's papers. 

Paper Names

Because the digitized files are coming from a variety of different libraries, there may be subtle differences in the way in which publications are named. So, for example, The Rock Island Argus may be listed under Rock Island Argus, The Rock Island Argus and Daily Union, Rock Island Daily Argus, etc. Differences may also appear if the newspaper has changed its name throughout history. 
 

Vocabulary

Remember that acceptable language and vocabulary changes over time, and historical newspapers may use different terminologies than what would be used today or is acceptable today. Consider the chart below that was created by the Library of Congress, for example: 

Use the names of towns, landmarks, bridges, buildings, and other geographic features as they would have been when the materials you are searching were created. For instance, the state of Oklahoma was referred to as both "Indian Territory" and "Oklahoma Territory" prior to its admission as a state, so searching for "Indian Territory" may produce more search results if searching on topics related to Oklahoma.

Augustana Observer & Rockety-I Database

Augustana Observer: Available from 1902-2016 (w/ more recent on the Observer's website)

Rockety-I Yearbook: Available from 1900-2004

NOTE: You must use Internet Explorer in order to access the full functionality of these online databases. 

Using the Database: 

1. Pay attention to Instructions. These databases often are difficult to navigate at first, and following the instructions that the Special Collections librarian has created for you will save you a lot of time. You can find the full instructions HERE. 
    
2. Turn off the pop-up blocker. Your built-in pop-up blocker may prevent you from accessing content. 
    
3. Use the Control bars to do the heavy lifting. You can limit your results/ refine your searches using both the top and side bar options of the database. 
    
4. Important Features to Note: 
   1. ​Stem - Lets you control if the database searches for your exact keyword(s) or also searches for words that begin with the same letters. 
   2. Fuzz - on/off lets you control whether or not the system does 'fuzzy' searching. Newsprint can often be misinterpreted by  scanners, and this feature allows the database to return results that are close, but not exact, matches for your terms. 

Pay attention to any of the following: 

• Alumni News or Alumni Notes
• Alumni Events
• Alumni Endowment Funds
• In memorium

A Few Things to Keep in Mind as You Search...

• Are you taking your time and searching as thoroughly as possible in the resource? Based on how these databases are constructed, a single letter difference or space difference can radically change the results you get. Searching once and then moving on is NOT going to get you a full picture of what is in the source. 
   
• Where are you getting your information from? Where did that source get its information from?
  What sorts of guarantees do you have that the content you are looking at is accurate? Remember that you should be treating this like a research project you are doing for any of your other classes - if asked, can you provide citations for all of the information you have so far? Are you using credible sources? Or are you just trusting whatever the internet tells you is true?
   
• Always be sure to look at entire publication, not just snippets.