Skip to Main Content

Newspapers: Newspapers and Magazines

Using newspapers in your research

Availability

You are strongly advised to check that we have access to the publications you need before committing to using them in your research.

Facsimile or Non-facsimile 

Consider whether you need to see the publication as originally published in print (full-facsimile) or just the text of the article (non-facsimile). 

The British Library

The British Library hold a large collection of newspapers to study by visiting either their sites at St Pancreas or Boston Spa.

Databases - current publications

Current publications

Non-facsimile

  • Nexis Uni is our main newspaper database, providing full-text access to articles from publications all over the world. It is a non-facsimile database, which means only the text of each article is included. It is the recommended database if you need to do advanced searching across a range of titles.

Full-facsimile

  • If it's the full-facsimile you need, then use PressReader. Each title is a replication of the printed edition. This allows you to browse through each edition and includes all the images, layout, typography, advertising etc. 
  • Our subscription to FT.com provides full-facsimile editions of the Financial Times going back to 2007.
  • The Library also subscribes to The Guardian Digitised Newspaper, which goes back to 2010.

Links to all BU's newspaper databases

Databases - historical publications

Historical publications

Non-facsimile

  • Our main newspaper and magazines database is Nexis Uni. Coverage is dependent on the title, with many stretching back to the 1990s, and small number going as far back as the 1970s.
  • Nexis Uni is non-facsimile, which means only the text of each article is included. It is the recommended database if you need to do advanced searching across a range of titles.

Full-facsimile

  • PressReader only has a limited archive (a year's worth of editions at most).
  • BU has access to historical archives from The Guardian (2010 - present), The Independent (1986-2012) and The Times (1785-2019). These are full-facsimile and allow for more advanced searching than PressReader. 
  • 19th Century British Library Newspapers, British Periodicals (late 17th century to the early 20th century) and 19th Century UK Periodicals are fully-searchable databases we subscribe to covering titles from centuries past.  

Links to all BU's newspaper databases