Champaign City Anniversary
Newspapers
Newspapers are likely to be good sources of information. Just be aware that back issues of local papers are not generally available online. However, a trip to the Urbana Free Library Archives or the University Library's History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library is well worth the effort! See details and links below.
Uni High Library: We keep the previous 10 issues of the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette. The following database will get you to older issues. Use your NetID and password to access them from home.
NewsBank Newspapers
This service includes both contemporary and historical databases. Click on Illinois to search for articles from the News Gazette and other small-town Illinois papers back to 1997. Click on Chicago Tribune to search the Tribune back to 1985.
Chicago Tribune, 1849 - 1985
Use this database to get to articles prior to 1986.
Historical New York Times
Access any New York Times article from 1851-2006.
Google Advanced News Archive Search
These historical archives include a timeline to help with historical context. Not all the articles are free -- to find more of the free ones, select "no price" from the price menu near the bottom.
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
This UIUC project has currently fully digitized the Daily Illini (1916-1925) and the Daily Urbana Courier (1916-1925). To conduct an advanced search, click on More search options next to the search box.
Public library holdings: Search the catalogs of the libraries that are in the Lincoln Trail Libraries System to find out what's available locally. Here's the trick: do a keyword search on “newspapers” and the name of the city or county you are interested in.
Urbana Free Library Archives
Here you will find the most comprehensive public library newspaper collection in the area. The archives specialize in genealogy and local history. Though the focus in on Champaign County, they have information on many other communities in Illinois. The index is now online!
Newspaper Library (University of Illinois Library): The University of Illinois History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library is a great resource for this project. They hold tens of thousands of reels of microfilm and subscribe to almost 500 current newspapers. From the search page, type in your city and select Illinois as your state.
BROWSE BY ISSUE:
Time: Full Text articles back to May 1990.
*NEW Available free online: Time Magazine Archives
Newsweek: Full Text articles back to January 1990.
U.S. News and World Report: Full Text articles back to May 1990.
You can also search popular magazines, such as Rolling Stone, People, Sports Illustrated, and many other titles in the library's Online Research Resources. Select Journals and Newspapers and type the title of the source you want to find.
Databases
Use the advanced search feature on Expanded Academic ASAP or Academic Search Premier.
Illinois Harvest: Digitized Books from UIUC
This digital collection is best used after you have chosen a topic. Click on Search at the top of the page, then use the Keyword/Phrase Anywhere search. The results page will reflect all types of digital content, including photographs, from a variety of participating universities. Use the left toolbar or Relevant Collections to narrow your search, paying particular attention to UIUC Digitized Books. Because these are digitized books, they have the tendency to be very old--use this as a supplemental resource to more recent research.
Websites
Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA)
Created to foster and encourage the preservation and conservation of the natural and built environment of Champaign County and East Central Illinois, PACA helps with the restoration of historic buildings and salvages artifacts from buildings slated for demolition. Check it for a great list of historic buildings in Champaign-Urbana.
Illinois Association of Museums
To view a list of museums in Illinois, click on Resources, then Directory of Member Museums, and finally Institutions Sorted by City or Institutions Sorted by Region. Remember that this topic focuses on historical societies and museums, so not every museum listed will be appropriate for this topic.
University of Illinois Buildings
Use the links on the right side of the page to view pictures, fast facts, and histories of different University of Illinois campus buildings and landmarks.
If you already have a museum or historical society in mind, try searching for its website using Google or your preferred search engine. For example, a Google search on "Champaign County Historical Museum" shows their website as the first search result: http://www.champaignmuseum.org/