In February, the almost 150 year old Rocky Mountain News closed its doors. It is just one of the many recent newspaper casualties. What happens to the records, clippings, reference files, photos, and other material that such newspapers had? In the case of the RMN, several online sources report that agreements are in the works for transfer of the materials.
The Associated Press reports that the Denver Public Library will house the newspaper’s “digital and paper clipping files, microfilm reels, digital and photographic files, and marketing materials and correspondence.” I am presuming that the collection might be part of the excellent Western History and Genealogy department.
The Colorado Historical Society, based in Denver, would take “other artifacts like signs, photographs, special editions, and other historical documents.”
Many large newspapers have/had in-house libraries and/or archives where reporters did a lot of the research for articles. Not all get saved, so it is great to see one newspaper archives being saved.
© 2009, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.
