The State Library collects newspapers from all 67 Pennsylvania counties. Out-of-state newspapers include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and USA Today. Our newspaper holdings can be searched using our online catalog. Newspapers can be searched by the city and county of publication.
The library does not have room to keep all the newspapers in a paper form, so many of the papers are on microfilm. If the library is not able to purchase microfilm for the newspaper, we keep the original paper. The State Library's collection of historic and current newspapers is comprised of more than 100,000 microfilm reels and over 3,000 bound volumes. Currently, the State Library receives approximately 126 newspapers, including all the major dailies published in Pennsylvania and at least one newspaper from each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
The State Library's earliest Pennsylvania newspaper is a December 22, 1719 issue of the American Weekly Mercury. This newspaper is reputed to be the first newspaper published in the middle colonies, and the fourth in order of time, published in America.
Access to historic newspapers from the Rare Collections Library may be restricted due to their condition. Please contact the Main reference number (717) 783-5950 for contact information.
For more information on research using the State Library of Pennsylvania's Newspaper Collection, please see our guide to Pennsylvania Newspapers.