Masthead for the Fur-Worker, accessed via Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection
Historical Newspapers
NYPL subscribes to a number of databases that provide cardholders with access to digitized, searchable historical newspapers. These databases include both major, mainstream national newspapers and smaller publications serving a specific ethnic or political group. Both national and local news outlets frequently covered labor stories, which can be found in the below databases using keyword and advanced search. Try searching keywords like the name of a union or local, "labor" (or a set phrase like "Chicago labor"), and restricting your search to specific years or dates.
In addition to the below, free online resources like Chronicling America, Google Books and HathiTrust Digital Library are immensely helpful for finding full runs of union periodicals that are in the public domain, including ones digitized by the New York Public Library. HathiTrust advanced search allows users to search by LCSH. Try using the tips in the "Trade Union Materials by Industry" tab to find materials.
Other libraries have also created useful online resources for accessing historical labor-related periodicals. See the University of Washington's Labor Press Project, New York University's Digital Tamiment and Cornell University's Kheel Center Digital Collections.
- African American Periodicals 1825-1995 This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text and page images of over 170 periodicals, published in 26 states, by and about African Americans. Includes academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations' bulletins, and annual reports. Access to this resource has been temporarily expanded to NYPL cardholders working from home, courtesy of Readex/Newsbank. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
- America's Historical Newspapers
Searchable full-text and page images of newspapers from across the country including early newspapers, 1690-1922, African American Newspapers, 1827-1998; America's Urban Centers Newspaper Collection, 1807-1880; Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection, 1799-1971; Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876;and Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980; Early American Newspapers, Series 15, 1822-1879: Immigrant Communities. Access to this resource has been temporarily expanded to NYPL cardholders working from home, courtesy of Readex/Newsbank. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
- American Periodicals (1740-1940)
This database contains over 1,800 magazines, journals, and newspapers published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically significant titles. Some of these titles are archived at the Center for Research Libraries (CRL).
This database can be searched simultaneously with the various ProQuest historical newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.** - Communist Historical Newspaper Collection This link opens in a new window
The ProQuest Communist Historical Newspaper collection provides full-text access to major American communist newspapers. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
- Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection, 1799-1971
More than 50 searchable newspapers from the former Balch Institute of Ethnic Studies. More titles and languages to come. Access to this resource has been temporarily expanded to NYPL cardholders working from home, courtesy of Readex/Newsbank. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
- Newspapers.com This link opens in a new window
Newspapers.com is the largest online newspaper archive consisting of 300+ million pages of historical newspapers from 11,100+ newspapers from around the United States and beyond, with a special focus on full runs and portions of runs of well-known, regional and state titles in addition to small local newspapers. The collection includes a broad range of dates, mostly covering the 19th and 20th centuries. Access to this resource has been temporarily expanded to NYPL cardholders working from home, courtesy of ProQuest and its partner Newspapers.com. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
- Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Directory of international magazines, journals, annuals, irregular publications, and newspapers. **Patrons should read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of this resource before searching.**
Historical Trade Publications from the Science, Industry and Business Library
Historical and other research materials from the NYPL Business Center, formerly known as the Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL), have been relocated to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Among these are a number of trade journals representing an extremely broad range of industries. These publications can provide useful historical context about the industry you're researching and may also contain news about unions and labor relations.
SIBL staff wrote a six-part series of blog posts highlighting historical trade journals that have been digitized.
Part 2: Apparel & Accessories, Textiles, Fabrics & Leather
Part 3: Dry Goods, Paper & Stationery
Part 4: Building & Construction, Hardware, House & Office Furnishing, Woodworking
Part 5: Automobiles & Motorcycles, Manufacturing & Machinery, Metalworking
Part 6: Chemicals, Coal & Gas, Electricity, Mining
The Library also provides access to current trade publications. This guide, also compiled by Business Center librarians, contains a list of currently-received trade publications in print, organized by industry. See here for tips on finding online trade journals.