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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Newspapers are archived at libraries, Part 1

For our lesson and discussion this week in LIBT 115, Technology in the workplace, our instructor has asked each student to name one old or obsolete piece of audiovisual equipment, electronic technology, or computer hardware. “Maybe many of you still touch this equipment in your day to day work activities.”

The “audiovisual equipment” that I touch in my day-to-day activities, is a daily newspaper. The pulp-printed newspaper is increasingly near-obsolete as publishing companies shift to a greater emphasis on digital.

What does this mean for libraries? There are two ways that libraries provide news for their patrons. The first way is by physically storing papers or microfilm. The access to these resources allows patrons an opportunity to browse community history.

The Lake County Library offers several titles in its historic newspaper collection for Lake County, Calif. The list of its holdings includes dates and notes to the files’ condition.

Through interlibrary loan, libraries can make spools of microfilmed newspapers available to readers outside the immediate area.

The second way is through subscription databases that archive journal and newspaper articles. The cardholder at a library that subscribes to a particular database can search and access articles in its archives. The Cuesta College Library subscribes to ProQuest, NewsBank, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Students enrolled in the school have access to these databases.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

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