There are two ways to find a particular page you may be interested in; namely via Search or via Browse.

SEARCH:- A simple “Google” type Search box is present on the home and search pages. An additional Advanced Search form combines several powerful options to help refine your search. These include keyword(s), date, region, title, article type and tags that other users have added. The results are listed, 10 per page, in the centre results panel. A series of filters also appear on the left hand navigation panel and can be selected until the required results appear in the results panel. Read our Search Tips for more detailed advice on searching.

BROWSE: The Browse method allows a particular newspaper to be found starting, either on the Home or Search page, by its title (via the drop down title list) or by location of publication (via the clickable map). A series of filters then appear on the left hand navigation panel and can be selected until the required individual newspaper issues and pages appear in the centre results panel.

VIEW: When you have narrowed down your selection by either of the above methods, just click on the thumbnail of the pages shown in the results panel and it will appear in the viewer. At this point if you have already chosen a usage package, the image will appear in the viewer. If not, you will be prompted to purchase a package. Once the Viewer appears, you can move through the newspaper pages using a mixture of zoom, scrolling and grab tools.
The Viewer contains print and download image options. There are also engaging features allowing you to add a comment or tag to a page to help contextualise it. However, perhaps the most useful tool is Bookmarking. This enables you to save and organise your research into a series of folders in your “My Research” area (accessible via the top navigation tabs).

Searchable Text: Once images of the original material have been created, they are sent through a process called Optical Character Recognition (OCR) which creates the electronic text in a searchable format. This process also involves segmenting each page into article types to aid searching. Although OCR makes it possible to search large quantities of full text information it is not 100% accurate. The accuracy depends on a variety of factors: condition of the original newspaper or microfilm, quality of the paper, size and style of the font and column layouts, for example.
When viewing an image, the OCR text can be viewed via the left nav All Articles option. You can select an individual article and then select Show Article text and the text. This addictive option can be accessed by simply clicking the list of sections displayed and applying your own corrections. By correcting the text, you will be adding to the quality of the data that can be searched by others.

CHARGES: All searching is free on this site but it costs to view images in the viewer. (There are a number of free sample pages in the homepage timeline however). There are both Subscription and Credit Packages available to best suit your needs. If you do not have a valid package you will be asked to purchase one before being allowed to view any images.