The Times Digital Archive now accessible through Galvin Library
The Times is the oldest daily newspaper in continuous publication, first printed in London in 1785 under the original title of The Daily Universal. (The Times became the paper's masthead in 1788.)
The Times Digital Archive is an online, full–text facsimile of the newspaper, making content from 1785–2006 available to researchers. The archive comes to IIT as a gift from Russell Betts, Dean of College of Science and Letters.
Several historians in the IIT Humanities Department are currently using the archives for their work and believe that it is a great primary source tool for student projects as well. "Students need to work with primary documents and large amounts of historical data to understand what history actually is...how it works, and why it's important as an intellectual and cultural pursuit for all people trying to understand the world around them, not just historians," said Marie Hicks, who will be using the database for her research on concrete and qualitative changes in computer use and perception of use over time. Maureen Flanagan agrees: "The archives are valuable as a primary research tool to which I can direct students in my courses on urban history." Dr. Flanagan is currently working on a book manuscript on gender and the built environment in London, Dublin, Toronto, and Chicago. "The digital London Times archives will help me in my research covering the decades of the 1870s through the 1940s. Newspapers are an essential primary source for researching modern history, and for my work they provide a daily account of what is happening in a city," Flanagan said.
The Times Digital Archive can be accessed here.
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