News Sources and Indexes

The Rod Library subscribes to about 35 newspapers.  In addition, the library can provide access and/or indexing to articles from many more newspapers and news periodicals in databases and serve as a gateway to newspapers and news sources located on the Internet.

"Newspapers are acquired by UNI to support the teaching and research needs of the University and to support current awareness by providing access to information on events and news at the local, state, national and international levels." - Rod Library Newspaper Collection Policy.

You may search for a specific newspaper title (via UNISTAR) to determine if Rod Library subscribes to it by clicking on Newspaper Articles on the Rod Library Home Page and entering a title in the search box.   You may browse for print  newspapers by clicking on You may also browse the titles by clicking on Browse Print and Electronic Newspaper Titles in Library Catalog on that page.  You may also look specifically for newspapers available electronically or Internet news sources by selecting Electronic Newspapers or Other News Sources under Newspaper Articles.

Recent newspapers may be browsed in the Newspaper Room located on the first floor behind the main staircase.  Some newspapers and classified advertisements are located on the first floor at the MultiService Center's Periodicals Desk.

Past issues of some newspapers are available on microfilm on the first floor of the library in the Microforms Room.  Microfilmed volumes/issues of newspapers are filed alphabetically by their title in the microform drawers.  Check the  Lib. Has ( Library Has) statement in the UNISTAR record for your title to find out which volumes/issues the library has and which are on microfilm.  Many newspapers have gone through title changes so be sure to check for a Continues or Cont'd by (Continued by) statement in the UNISTAR record which indicates previous or newer titles.

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Identifying news articles can be accomplished in several ways.   One way is to search the paper or electronic indexes of paper or electronic newspapers owned by the Rod Library.  The first five below are paper indexes.

The Christian Science Monitor Index
UNI Index/Abstract Al 21.C46

The New York Times Index
UNI Index/Abstract Al 21.N45

The Time Index (London)
UNI Index/Abstract Al 21.T46

The Washington Post Index
UNI Index/Abstract Al 21.W33

Index to the Waterloo Courier
UNI Index/Abstract Al 21.W37

For additional information on searching paper indexes to newspapers, check the front of the index or see the Library User's Guide: Newspapers and Indexes available on the List of Library User's Guides page of the Rod Library home page.

The next sources provide electronic indexing to newspapers owned by the Rod Library.  If you are unable to access these sources from an area remote from UNI, please see Accessing E-Resources from Off Campus.

The Des Moines Register
This title may be available on NewsBank.  If not, you may search the CD-Rom version of the Des Moines Register Index.  The CD-Rom indexes cover 1991 through the most recent past year.  Select the Des Moines Register icon from the desktop on the library computers.  In addition, the Public Library of Des Moines provides up-to-date indexing to the Des Moines Register (going back to the early 1980s).  Click on "Databases," then on "Des Moines Register."  In addition to the above indexes, UNI's Rod Library staff is currently compiling a Des Moines Register Index September 1965 - June 1976.

IndexUNI (for the Northern Iowan)
Go to the the Rod Library Homepage. Click on About the Library. Next, click on Special Collections & University Archives. Then, click on "IndexUNI." If you choose to search by "Advanced KEYWORD Search," you may then limit your search to only the Northern Iowan newspaper.

The New York Times Article Archive: 1851-1980 and 1981-present.

The Wall Street Journal.
This title is available through the Rod Library home page.  Click on Electronic Newspapers under Newspaper Articles on the home page.  Select the Wall Street Journal from the listing under United States.  This title is available via ProQuest.  Full text articles are available for 1984 through the present.  Selective indexing and abstracts are available for years 1981 - 1983.   Indexing to "Abstracts, summaries and briefs" back to May 1, 1973 are available on LexisNexis.

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A second way to identify news articles is to search indexes that index many news sources.  The following databases are examples of these indexes and are available through the Rod Library home page.  Select the desired index or abstract title from the Databases A-Z listing under Journal and Magazine Articles (Panther Prowler).

LexisNexis
Click on Databases A-Z  (under Journal and Magazine Articles (Panther Prowler)) on the Rod Library home page.  Select LexisNexis Academic from the alphabetical listing.  Select NEWS from the main LexisNexis menu.  The NEWS category is divided into several areas:

General News indexes prominent newspapers from the United States and the world.  Also available here are news magazines and journals.

Today's News indexes news happening now.  The news stories are updated throughout the day.

U.S. News indexes Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Western regional news sources of the United States.  You must select a region in order to search this index.

World News indexes newspapers from around the world.  You must select from among: North/South America, European, Asia/Pacific, and Middle East/African news sources.

Also included under News are the following categories:

Wires - Wire service reports

Transcripts - Television; Radio News Broadcasts

Arts & Sports - Reviews, entertainment & sports news

Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education and the University Wire (student newspapers)

Non-English Language News - Newspapers written in Spanish, French, Dutch, Italian & German

Clicking on the "Source List" button next to your selected search index will give you a list of the news sources you will be searching.  You may also click on "About This Title" after any news source title to get further information about that title such as the years of that title LexisNexis is covering.   To search for articles from a specific newspaper, click on the "Sources" button at the top of any screen.  Type in  your title and then choose "Search This Title."

NewsBank Full-Text Newspapers
This source has full text articles from the Chicago Tribune, the (Cedar Rapids) Gazette, the Des Moines Register as well as many other newspapers.  Coverage of the Des Moines Register is intermittent.  Check the NewsBank site to see if it is currently indexing the Des Moines Register.  See the Des Moines Register above for alternative ways to access the Des Moines Register.

Ethnic Newswatch
This title is available through the Rod Library home page.  Click on Electronic Newspapers under Newspaper Articles on the home page.  Select the Ethnic Newswatch from the listing.
This source contains the full text of newspapers, magazines and journals of ethnic, minority and native presses.

FirstSearch - Alternative Press Index
Click on Databases A-Z  (under Journal and Magazine Articles (Panther Prowler) on the Rod Library home page.  Select FirstSearch from  the alphabetical listing. Select AltPressIndex or AltPressIndexArchive from the drop-down menu.
This database indexes "alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines that report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political and social change."   Ask at the Reference desk for help in accessing this database.

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A third way to identify news items is to search for news on the Internet.  Remember, searching an Internet newspaper for a specific article, once you are on its home page, will be limited to how well its search engine works, its coverage, and how many years in the past are included in its database.   Look for "News" on the home page of a search engine or on a menu or directory on the search engine's home page.  The following two search engines are examples:

Yahoo News
News topic categories included on the "News" page are: Top Stories, World, Business, Politics, Entertainment, Technology, Local, Sports, Opinion/Editorial among others.

Google
Click on "Directory" on the Google home page and then click on "News."   You may then click on "By Subject" if desired.  23 different subject categories are listed, included among which are Autos, Aviation, Crime, Disabilities, Environment, Ethnicity, Health, Human Rights, Labor Movement, Law, and Military.

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The Rod Library has identified many newspapers available electronically which cover specific geographic areas.  On the Rod Library home page, click on Electronic Newspapers under Newspaper Articles.  This page contains Internet links to newspaper Directories, Iowa newspapers, United States newspapers, and International newspapers.  The international newspapers are arranged by continent.