As news junkies already know, the New York Times will be moving to online subscription fees by the end of March. But with the help of the Library, you can still keep reading it online for free, with just your library card:
- Today’s NYT: Read the text-only version of today’s New York Times in our Newspapers by ProQuest premium database.
- Yesterday’s NYT (and last year’s): New York Times articles show up the day after they’re printed in our more general library databases like General OneFile.
- Historic NYT: Get digital access to every page, story and photo from every issue of the Times between 1851 and 2007 through the Proquest historical newspaper premium site.
As in the days before the Internet, the latest edition of the physical New York Times newspaper can still be found at all eight of the library’s facilities. So feel free to sit and read the paper the old-fashioned way – even with a morning cup of coffee (drinks are permitted in all our locations). And Central continues to archive the Times on microfilm for the years 1851-2004.
And our collection of online newspapers and magazines goes well beyond the New York Times. Think of the Arlington Public Library as your free, modern-day newsstand in changing times.
Why only microfilm until 2004? Retaining a historical record that is the property of the library is important for civic research and democracy for this and future generations. Putting archival-type information into an electronic-only service owned/hosted by a private corporation does not seem like good long-term policy. If this was part of the budget cuts, please let people know how much they cost so a case can be made for restoration of these funds. Thank you!
Anonymous – With apologies for taking so long to answer your question…Our 2004 decision to switch from purchasing the NYTimes on microfilm to subscribing to the full electronic pdf coverage (currently through 2007) was a budget choice, not the result of budget cuts.We made this decision based on the desire for greater 24/7 online access to the paper, and the unaffordable cost of duplicating the content in both formats.