MIDDLESEX — Secretary of State Jim Condos and State Archivist Tanya Marshall announced on May 29 that early Vermont newspapers have been added to Newspapers.com and can be researched online for free by residents.
“Newspapers, especially newspapers of record, are instrumental to ensuring Vermonters are informed and knowledgeable about historic government actions” said Secretary Condos. “Preserving these newspapers in the state archives and increasing access through our partnership with Newspapers.com is a win-win for both state government and the citizens of Vermont.”
Through a partnership with Ancestry.com, and its subsidiary Newspapers.com, the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA), a division within the Office of the Vermont Secretary of State, continues to improve access to many of the state’s most valuable records. The Vermont Department of Libraries, which has microfilmed hundreds of Vermont newspapers over the past several decades, transferred its newspapers microfilm reels to VSARA in 2017.
Condos applauds the department’s decision to transfer the records to the State Archives saying “we thank the Department of Libraries for its efforts to collect and preserve Vermont newspapers, making this important access for members of the public possible.”
Since January of this year, millions of pages from Vermont newspapers dating from the 1700s through 1922 have been digitized and are now available online through the MyVermont.gov state portal. MyVermont.gov accounts are free and can be created by visiting secure.vermont.gov/myvermont/.
“Being able to provide free online access to Vermonters is an exciting outcome to a long history of interrelatedness, as well as reciprocity, when it comes to Vermont newspapers, the Vermont Office of the Secretary of State, the Vermont Department of Libraries, and the state’s obligations for preservation and public access,” said Marshall.
The full set of Vermont newspapers on microfilm, are available through VSARA’s Reference Room. Individuals interested in learning more about Vermont’s newspapers can contact VSARA at [email protected] or 802-828-2308.