Introduction to the Collections

The holdings of the newspaper collection at the Humanities & Social Sciences Library (HSSL) include over 350,000 reels of microfilm, tens of thousands of bound volumes, and thousands of current titles from all over the world.

HSSL maintains comprehensive collections of most general New York City newspapers in English and other languages. Notable collections include, among others, the New York Journal of Commerce and New York Commercial, the New York Post, The New York Times, and El Diario-La Prensa. Among local and neighborhood newspapers, the library holds complete microfilm collections of the Villager and The Village Voice, while the Amsterdam News is accessible at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In addition, the library provides access to representative U.S. newspapers in many languages from major metropolitan areas, to international newspapers with at least one title from every country (when possible), and to other selected newspapers.

The Library also subscribes to many electronic resources that index newspapers, often including full-text articles. (See Locating Newspaper Articles in this guide.) These resources can be used from the public computers in any of the library’s reading rooms.

Where to Find Newspapers in HSSL

Newspapers are found throughout the Library, in almost every Division. The Research Libraries’ online catalog, CATNYP, will tell you in which location you can find the title you need, so make sure to take note of the Location indicated in CATNYP records. (See Using the Library’s Catalog in this guide.)

Within HSSL, newspapers may be located in any of the following Divisions (again, refer to CATNYP for exact location). You will need to request newspapers from the Division in which they are located.

DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room (Room 108) For print copies of a few, current U.S. and international newspapers (see Current Newspapers in this guide) for a 3-month period. They are shown in CATNYP as “CURRENT IN ROOM 108.”

Microforms (Room 100) For most current and older U.S. and international newspapers, except those in the language divisions listed below. You can retrieve those titles in the self-service area yourself (they appear in CATNYP as *R-*Z). You can request all other titles (*Z in CATNYP) at the desk. The CATNYP location is “Humanities-Micro.”

Asian and Middle Eastern Division (Room 219) For all titles, either in print or in microfilm, in Asian and Middle Eastern languages. For titles relating to those regions but written in other languages, refer to CATNYP. The CATNYP location is “Humanities-Asian&ME Div.”

Dorot Jewish Division (Room 84) For newspapers of Jewish interest, either in print or in microfilm. The CATNYP location is “Humanities-Jewish Div.”

Slavic and Baltic Division (Room 216-217) For all titles in the Slavic and Baltic languages. For titles relating to those regions but written in other languages, refer to CATNYP. The CATNYP location is “Humanities-Slav&Balt Div.”

General Research Division (Room 315) For any titles that don’t fall in the above categories. The CATNYP location is “Humanities-Genrl Res” or “OFFSITE.” If you are at the library, you will need a librarian's assistance in Room 315 or Room 100 to request offsite titles. You may also request offsite materials from home by clicking on the OFFSITE link in CATNYP records.

Rare Books Division, Room 328 For most papers published before 1865 (see Historical Titles in this guide). Titles listed in CATNYP (not all titles are) will appear as *K. Ask a librarian in Room 315 for assistance.

Newspapers at any of the other Research Libraries will have the following CATNYP locations:

PerfArts Library for the Performing Arts

Schomburg-Genrl Res Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

SIBL Science Industry & Business Library

If you need assistance locating materials, please see a reference librarian at the reference desk in Room 315. If you are not in the library, you may also e-mail us for assistance at grdref@nypl.org.