SmallTownPapers

04/09/2026

📢 Today is Local News Day

Local news does more than report stories — it keeps our communities connected, informed, and engaged. In small towns across America especially, local newspapers are often the lifeline of the community — sharing everything from town decisions to the stories that bring neighbors closer together.

We’re honored to support the journalists who bring these stories to life and to help preserve their work through digital archives.

Let’s take a moment to recognize the importance of local reporting and the role it plays in capturing the history of our communities. Together, we can ensure these stories remain accessible for years to come.

📰 Show your support for local news and celebrate the voices that tell your community’s story.

03/30/2026

Small-market newspapers across 15 Iowa counties face an uncertain future after Mid-America Publishing Corporation announced it will shut down. Several of the affected papers have been serving their communities for more than a century, documenting local government, daily life, and regional history.

With final editions scheduled for April 1 and only a few potential buyers in discussion, this situation highlights the ongoing challenges facing local journalism — and the growing number of communities at risk of losing their primary source of local news.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/4r4t7wu3

Facing closure on April 2, Mid-America Publishing Corporation's historic local papers, like the Butler County Tribune, may turn their final pages.

03/17/2026

OTTAWA — A new study released on Monday says AI systems depend on Canadian journalism for the information they provide users but don't offer compensation or proper attribution in return Researchers at McGill University’s Centre for Media, Technology an...

03/12/2026

AIBPAL is your all-in-one archive database and local LLM archive which makes it easy to organize and access your private content without the risk of third-party access.

03/04/2026

We love feedback from genealogists who let us know the value of our small-town newspaper archive collection. Many of these papers were never even microfilmed because there was no budget for it. Search and explore it at: https://stparchive.com

12/30/2025

Company sends protest letter to Perplexity. Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune Co. and "The New York Times'" seek to consolidate their cases against the company.

12/24/2025

12/05/2025

Organizations are increasingly concerned about how AI may affect control of their archives and other content.

The suit, filed on Thursday, charges that Perplexity is using the "Chicago Tribune" to build its search engine.

11/11/2025

This Veterans Day, we’re reminded that history lives in the memories, letters, photos, and records of those who served. Digitizing and making these archives searchable ensures their sacrifices and stories are never lost — and always accessible to future generations. (Photo from China Lake collection - https://tinyurl.com/yckc2dhz)

Bring your history to life online and help preserve the legacy of those who gave so much.

10/28/2025

This really articulates why we do what we do - work to digitize historical archives so they can be preserved and searched/explored online!

Archivists worry in particular about photographs that have never been digitized.

09/15/2025

Know the value of your content and protect it. A publisher takes on Google: https://tinyurl.com/2swn4z83

The suit alleges that Google uses material without paying for it.