Eighteenth-Century American Newspapers in the Library of Congress

INTRODUCTION

This is the first revision of the Checklist of Eighteenth-Century American Newspapers in the Library of Congress since Henry S. Parsons's edition in 1935. Since that year, the Library has added 117 volumes to its collection, for a total of 1637. More significantly, the file now contains microfilm holdings representing approximately 400 titles, plus nearly 360 titles included in the American Antiquarian Society's microprint series. This checklist reflects the Library's holdings of pre-1801 American newspapers as of February 2, 1996.

The main body of the work consists of individual newspaper titles arranged alphabetically by state, city, and newspaper title. The numbers in the title index and the name index (including printers, publishers, and editors) refer to entry numbers, not page numbers.

The current revision employs successive title entry cataloging, as opposed to the latest entry method of previous editions. Thus, each title change in a newspaper's history now results in a separate bibliographic and holdings record. Individual title entries include publication dates, publishers, frequency, continuation notes, and other applicable notes. Holdings are listed chronologically, with relevant control numbers in right-hand margins. The complete listing of bound and portfolio issues is given in the first part of each holdings record, with microfilm and microprint data listed second. The change to successive entry cataloging matches the form of entry in Newspapers in Microform, 1948-1983 (1984), and the United States Newspaper Program Union List.*

In combination with Clarence Brigham's History and Bibliography of American Newspapers 1690-1920, Winifred Gregory's American Newspapers, 1921-1936, Newspapers in Microform, 1948-1983, and the United States Newspaper Program Union List, this current revision forms a comprehensive record of American newspaper files from 1690 to the present.

Travis Westly
Reference Specialist

*For a description of the program see Larry E. Sullivan, "United States Newspaper Program: Progress and Prospects," Microfilm Review 15 (Summer 1986): 159.

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