The second step in our work is to catalog the Illinois newspapers we find throughout the state.

Cataloging the newspapers creates "bibliographic access" to these resources. This enables anyone to identify Illinois newspapers and determine where they are held in the state by consulting the INP database or the Statewide Illinois Library Catalog. If a particular title has already been microfilmed, it may be available on interlibrary loan. Some institutions will lend their microfilm to other libraries, while others offer only in-house use of their microfilm, as well as their original newsprint.

We conduct site visits to repositories throughout the state in order to conduct a thorough inventory of their newspaper collections. The inventory includes counting microfilm reels or bound volumes of newsprint for statistical purposes, examining the masthead of each newspaper to verify publication information, and determining which issues are held at each institution.

We adhere to newspaper cataloging policies developed by CONSER, a cooperative online serials cataloging program. These cataloging practices for newspapers have been developed since the start of the U.S. Newspaper Program in the early 1980s.

We provide access to this information through the INP Database. You can search for newspapers by county, city, title, or subject. The database shows when and where the newspapers were published. Underneath the descriptive information about the newspaper, we list the holdings information. This tells you what repositories in Illinois have which issues. We also try to tell you whether they have original newsprint or microfilm. If you are interested in looking at an institution's newspapers, you should contact the institution directly. Use our Participant Locator to find specific contact information.

Another free option for gaining bibliographic access to our work is the Statewide Illinois Library Catalog (SILC). Visit http://finditillinois.org/OCLC/ and click on "Enter the Catalog" on the right side of the page.