The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) website is now live. That’s right! We’ve known that it’s been coming for ages, and it is finally here … That’s 3,000,000 pages of historical British newspapers at your fingertips.

What makes the British Newspaper Archive project so special?
Well for a start it has made viewing old British newpapers accessible a whole lot easier for everyone worldwide. But to quote directly from BNA …

“we have scanned millions of pages of historical newspapers and made them available online for the first time ever. Search millions of articles by keyword, name, location, date or title and watch your results appear in an instant. Compare this with hours of painstaking manual searching through hard copies or microfilm often requiring a visit to the British Library in North London and it is easy to appreciate the ground breaking nature of this project.”

Searching the BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk?
You can search by region, or by keyword.  The types of records you’ll find are:
– News Articles:  read about national events, as well as issues of local and regional importance. News articles are your window into daily life in historical Britain.
– Family Notices: search for your family’s birth, marriage and death notices plus related announcements including engagements, anniversaries, birthdays and congratulations.
– Letters: read letters to the editor written by the newspaper’s readers, including illuminating contemporary debates, aspirations and anxieties.
– Obituaries view a wealth of contemporary information on the lives of notable individuals and ancestors.
– Advertisements: these include classifieds, shipping notices and appointments.
– Illustrations: see photographs, engravings, graphics, maps and editorial cartoons.

How much does it cost to use?
The all important question is how much does it cost to use. And at least in my option the rates look extremely reasonable.

The BritishNewspaperArchive offers both subscription and credit options. The 12 month Subscription (£79.95) gives you unlimited access to every page in the archive which means you don’t need to keep track of how many credits you have left.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to a shorter period, you can choose a time-limited Credit Package. The options provided are:
30 day / 3000 Credit Package costing £29.95
2 day / 500 Credit Package costing £6.95

With currently over 3,079,000 pages online, and thousands more being added everyday, this will be where many, ugh what am I saying, I mean ALL genealogists or family historians with English heritage will be visiting in the near future, if they haven’t already.

So whether you are a researcher, historian or you simply want to know more about Britain’s history, take this fantastic opportunity to search this vast treasure trove of historical newspapers from your own home.