Newspaper Search at Find My Past

[rjpaton]

Hi Folks

Just wondering what do we all think of the new newspaper search facility that has come up on Find My Past?

- Is it additional newspapers that can't be accessed through the library services I could already see or are they the same as the free ones?
- what do you think of the search interface?

Note - it does have some Scottish content

Robert

[rjpaton]

Just additional to help out those who don't know where it is or don't have a Findmypast account - here is the URL:

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/search/newspapers

You don't have to log or even have an account to see the search results, but its 5 credits to see the actual newspaper item.

Robert

[SarahND]

Hello Robert,
I wish I could answer your question but although I supposedly have a "World" subscription, the world apparently doesn't include British Newspapers! Unlike Ancestry, where you can visit any of the sites in different countries no matter which one your subscription was originally linked to, Findmypast does not allow access to the .co.uk site if you have a subscription on the .com site. It is, indeed, a small "world."

I can search, however, on the .co.uk site, although I can't see the results. The search function seems to have improved since the first weeks of the database offering and don't seem to get all the erroneous hits that you get with the "new" search that they inflict on U.S. subscribers. As far as content goes, here is the list of newspapers on Findmypast: http://www.findmypast.co.uk/cms/fmp/pdf ... -newer.pdf
Comparing with those on the British Newspaper Archive: http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.u ... aperTitles
the offerings seem to be nearly identical with just a few titles that are available only on the British Newspaper site.

Lucky you that you can access both sites! I can't see results on either one

Best wishes,
Sarah

[Currie]

Hello Sarah & Robert,

That’s a dumbed down search if ever I saw one. First name, last name, just as if the OCR could tell if the text was a name or not. It seems that there are an incredibly large number of people called Steam Engine.

It’s just BrightSolid playing around with their various databases and giving access to their “British Newspaper Archive” to FMP subscribers. Both are of course in partnership with the “British Library”. It’s very nice if you happen to be a FMP subscriber but not if you’re one of the great unwashed.

It’s a pity that the English are stuck with what’s more like the “National Library of Big Business” rather than something like the National Libraries of Scotland, or of Wales, or of New Zealand, or of Australia, for example. They are all doing wonderful things with their collections and making them freely available to the world.

The database we so easily and freely access via our Libraries and various other institutions is “19th Century British Library Newspapers”. All of what is available there is also available on the British Newspaper Archive site and presumably also at FMP. In addition BrightSolid, which as usual has managed to obtain monopoly control over public assets, has digitised many more of their Library’s newspaper holdings and will continue to do so for years to come.

For the 19C Newspapers, including Parts 1 and 2 there are about 70 titles of which four are Scottish. The BNA currently has almost 200 titles, and the Scottish ones that jump out at me are:

Aberdeen Journal 1798 - 1900
Ayr Advertiser, or, West Country Journal 1839
Berwickshire News and General Advertiser 1870 - 1904
Caledonian Mercury 1720 - 1867
Dumfries and Galloway Standard 1844 - 1860
Dundee Advertiser 1861 - 1867
Dundee Courier 1844 - 1920
Dundee, Perth, and Cupar Advertiser 1839 - 1864
Dunfermline Press 1859 - 1864
Dunfermline Saturday Press 1859 – 1867
Edinburgh Evening News 1874 - 1904
Elgin Courant, and Morayshire Advertiser 1839 - 1862
Elgin Courier 1845 - 1867
Falkirk Herald 1845 - 1904
Fife Herald 1844 - 1885
Glasgow Herald 1820 - 1900
Motherwell Times 1884 - 1924
Scots Magazine, The 1739 - 1900
Stirling Observer 1839 - 1867

The pay site that went with “19C” has now been dumped. The British Library site still shows this as being current. Interesting URL “Go Away”. http://go.ggimg.com/blcsGoAway/

Free access to “19C” for FE and HE UK students has been funded by JISC until only the middle of next year. Who knows what will happen then. http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catal ... w/Index/32

I preferred the way search results were displayed on the dumped site, ie in snippet form rather than what could be a jumble of OCR mish mash. I don’t like the way that regions are displayed, especially for foreigners trying to figure out where is West Midlands etc. I find it annoying when I click on the next page of results and it scrolls all the way to the top before changing. I don’t like their draconian terms and conditions which sound almost as if I can’t disclose anything I have found there to anyone and must take the results of my research to my grave.

All the best,
Alan

[SarahND]

Hi Alan,
Good news for the descendants of the Steam Engine family!

It’s very nice if you happen to be a FMP subscriber but not if you’re one of the great unwashed.

Which includes U.S. subscribers whether they have recently bathed or not (or possibly assumed to be unwashed until proven clean?).

The pay site that went with “19C” has now been dumped. The British Library site still shows this as being current. Interesting URL “Go Away”. http://go.ggimg.com/blcsGoAway/

!!! Now that sounds friendly! So now the only way for me to access these newspapers (since I don't live in a place with library access to them) is to take out an additional subscription to the British Newspaper Archive that costs much more than I paid for a "world" Findmypast subscription I guess I'll compile a set of searches to use for a brief "free trial" at Findmypast.co.uk since the British Newspaper Archive will only give me "up to" 3 pages free

Best wishes,
Sarah

[Lindsay]

I understand that the newspapers are to be added to the World subscription shortly - but don't quote me on that. I would suggest you contact them and ask.

As far as I am aware, since I currently have subscriptions to both, the content on FMP and the British library archive is identical. I have certainly been pulling results from the recently added post1920 years for the Dundee papers from FMP. FMP don't keep a running total on new editions so I would suggest you are guided by the list here:
http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.u ... aperTitles

I agree the search and results are a bit clunky on FMP but hopefully things will improve. The British Newspaper archive format is definitely the better of the two options for this material. However, this is a fantastic resource and I would hate people to be scared away by the negative tone every time a new paid resource opens up. Ultimately somebody has to pay for the work being done or it wouldn't happen, and I think the costs, either on the standalone site, or via FMP are pretty reasonable.

[SarahND]

Hi Lindsay,
I agree that these resources have to be paid for somehow, since the people who set them up are not volunteers and digitizing machines are not free, and I do have a number of paid subscriptions which I use daily. What I am objecting to is the different treatment given to subscribers of the same site in different countries. I do hope you are correct and that the newspapers will become part of the "world" subscription before mine runs out since I (stupidly, I admit) subscribed in good faith thinking that I would have all-access.

All the best,
Sarah

[SarahND]

For the information of those in a similar predicament, I heard back from findmypast about the world subscription:

Thank you for your query.

We are working towards having the British Newspapers available from all World subs and we expect to complete this work early in 2013. Our teams are working diligently to ensure the newspaper collections are successfully integrated within findmypast.com according to our high standards of quality records and images. These standards are especially important when it comes to more than three centuries of completely searchable newspapers from England, Scotland and Wales. The collection will be available soon and we will keep you posted with updates. You can look forward to:

• More than 200 newspapers titles for the period 1710-1950 with more added over time.
• Easy searching capabilities of the collection by keyword, surname, subject or location in a matter of seconds.
• Nearly 8,000 new pages added every day. The British library and brightsolid are digitizing nearly 40 million pages over the next 10 years.
• Added depth and color for your family tree. In seconds, the British Newspaper Archive can provide a vivid window into the past: From a man who decided one day to walk round the world in an iron mask, to bullet-stopping corsets and the art of wide-sleeved shoplifting - this is a digital Aladdin's Cave.

All the best,
Sarah

[LesleyB]

Pass me my bullet stopping corset....