Using current and historical regional newspapers for research
The USL digital newspaper collections are a rich resource you can take advantage of for your research. The USL portals give you quick access to the specific daily and weekly newspapers you may need from the Cologne administrative district and throughout the state of North Rhine-Westphalia — both current and historical.
The USL e-Paper catalogue
Electronic versions of regional daily newspapers
Access is available to daily newspapers from the Cologne administrative district, including sub- and supplementary editions. Issues are kept on file for reading and research from the present going back ten years in the e-Paper Catalogue, also available via the search portal bonnus.
Please note: For licensing reasons, use is solely possible via the Service PCs at the Main Library and the MNL Branch Library.
Looking for daily newspapers from other administrative districts of North Rhine-Westphalia?
Then check out the websites of the other two state libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia.
USL Düsseldorf is the responsible newspaper archive for Düsseldorf administrative district, while USL Münster offers access to the regional newspapers of the Arnsberg, Detmold and Münster administrative districts.
Legal Deposit Archive
Regional weekly papers from Cologne administrative district
As a State Library, the USL is legally bound to collect and archive all publications from Cologne administrative district and keep these on file as “deposit copies” available to users.
The Deposit Copy Archive is your resource for all electronic editions of regional weekly newspapers. These can also be searched for via bonnus.
zeit.punkt NRW
Historical newspapers of North Rhine-Westphalia
The zeit.punkt.NRW newspaper portal: a joint project of the State Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by a host of partners, for providing historical general-content newspapers from communities of North Rhine-Westphalia in its present borders online and free of charge. The service is ideal for researching local history, press history and regional topics.
Options for searching by location and calendar date make it easier to use the portal for research.
