Research Topic

Resources

Locating the Place of Publication

• See the Title Index in Section 2 of Brian Gilchrists Inventory of Ontario Newspapers, Toronto: Micromedia Limited, 1987, available in the Reading Room.

Finding if a newspaper is in the Archives collections

• See Finding Aid L 23 Original and Microfilm Newspaper Collections [MS Word (3.6M), PDF (964K)] in the Archives of Ontario (on our Web site or in the Genealogy Reference Area of the Reading Room). Refer to Appendix A5 for lists of newspapers available on microfilm. They are organized alphabetically by place of publication.

• If the newspaper is listed, note the microfilm N number. (e.g., N 481). Find the microfilm in the newspaper microfilm cabinets (cabinet numbers 33 to 46, with green labels) that are arranged by N number. If there is more than one reel of microfilm for the newspaper, the label on each microfilm box will tell you the exact dates of newspapers that are on each reel.

• If the newspaper is not listed as part of our microfilm collection, see Appendix A2 of Finding Aid L 23 [MS Word (3.6M), PDF (964K)] . It lists original newspapers by place of publication. Original Toronto newspapers are listed by name in Appendix A3. If a newspaper is listed as part of our collection of original documents, note the container number in the far right hand column (e.g., 13-2). Arrange to have the newspaper retrieved for you by submitting a Records Request Form to the Circulation Desk. (You can also e-mail or phone us in advance). Please give the newspaper name, years requested and container number.

• For our multicultural newspaper collection, see the Multicultural Newspapers Microfilming Project Binder (available in the Archives Reading Room), or the Microfilm Interloan Catalogue (on our Web site). Both are arranged according to the name of the newspaper. There is a community and language index at the front of the binder.

Finding Newspapers Published Outside of Ontario

• If you know the place of publication, see Finding Aid L 23 [MS Word (3.6M), PDF (964K)] , Original and Microfilm Newspaper Collections in the Archives of Ontario, Appendix A5. It lists microfilmed newspapers alphabetically by place of publication.

• If the newspaper is not listed in L 23, Appendix A5 [MS Word (3.6M), PDF (964K)] , see Non-Ontario Newspapers, 2 volume (available in the Reading Room). It lists original newspapers within our holdings by jurisdiction (province, region, country) and then alphabetically by the name of the newspaper.

Finding a newspaper that is not in the Archives collection

Consult these other sources:

• Canadian Newspapers on Microform held by Library and Archives Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/. Library and Archives Canada has the countrys most extensive and up-to-date collection of newspapers on microfilm. Their holdings are available on inter-library loan.

• Brian Gilchrists Inventory of Ontario Newspapers, Toronto: Micromedia Limited, 1987 (available in the Reading Room) to determine which organizations have the newspaper.

• Union List of Canadian Newspapers, 1988 (available in the Reading Room) to determine which repositories hold non-Ontario newspapers.

• The Toronto Reference Library Newspaper Collection, especially for more current newspapers: www.tpl.toronto.on.ca/

• Local libraries and archives

• The Toronto Star makes available on the Internet, for a fee, Pages of the Past, a digitized version of each of its issues from 1894 to 2002. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/about.html

Researching newspaper publication and ownership history

See the Newspaper Collections: Microfilm Introductions binders (available in the Reading Room). These binders contain a brief history of the ownership, publication and historical context of some microfilmed newspapers and a list of contents indicating which editions are missing. The entries are listed by microfilm reel number (for example, N 11). To find the N number, see Finding Aid L 23 Original and Microfilm Newspaper Collections in the Archives of Ontario [MS Word (3.6M), PDF (964K)] , Appendix A5.

The history and list of contents are also on the microfilm, at the beginning of each newspaper.