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Historic Rural Newspapers Digitized for Universal Access by the U Library


Mt. Pleasant newspaper from 02-12-1943

November 25, 2013 – With more than 174,000 visits per year by genealogists, scholars and others seeking historical information of some nature, The Utah Digital Newspapers (UDN) is an online archive in high demand. Founded in 2002 by the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah, the digital archive contains historic newspapers from across the state. And the archive has recently experienced a growth spurt with the addition of 130,000 pages from 11 Utah newspapers, including content from four rural newspapers new to the digital archive.

Various issues of the Brigham City Bugler (1891-1895), the Gunnison Valley News (1909-1935), the Milford/Beaver County News (1916-1946) and the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid (1912-1950) are now accessible, along with a total of 150,000 plus issues contained in 1.5 million pages of historic Utah newspapers that make up the Utah Digital Newspapers.

Dell Vaughn McDonald, a retired Air Force colonel from Milford City, inquired several months ago about the possibility of adding the Milford News to the archive. “I spend a good deal of time doing historical research, so having my hometown paper at my fingertips is a wonderful convenience,” says McDonald.

This recent digitization push also increased the digital holdings of The Salt Lake Tribune. The years spanning 1914 through 1919 have been added – valuable and interesting issues from the WWI era. These additional years bring The Salt Lake Tribune’s digitized pages total to 175,000 covering the years 1871-1919.

This expansion of the UDN was made possible in part by a grant from the Utah State Library Division, Department of Heritage and Arts, and from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that administers the Library Services and Technology Act. The Park City Museum, Davis County Library, Uintah County Library and Grand County Library also contributed funds to the project.

Over the years, several county libraries have provided funding to have their regional newspapers added to the UDN. In Vernal, director of the Uintah County Library System Sam Passey comments, “Our patrons are thrilled to have online access to the Vernal Express. The investment we’ve made in the project has reaped great benefits and we hope to continue our support, bringing even more issues online.”

ABOUT THE J. WILLARD MARRIOTT LIBRARY

The J. Willard Marriott Library is the flagship academic library for the Utah State System of Higher Education and the largest state-funded academic library in the six-state region of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. As the primary service hub and destination for students, the Marriott Library is integral to the teaching, research and public life missions of the University of Utah. The library’s mission is to inspire the creation, discovery and use of knowledge for Utah and the world. Library holdings include 3 million volumes and nearly 200 unique digital collections containing countless photographs, maps, books, audio recordings, newspaper articles and other items. Important collections span Utah, the Mormons, and the West to extensive science, engineering, medical and legal archives. The library also holds more than 1 million historical photographs and extensive film collections.