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Foreign Newspaper Collections at the Library of Congress

19th-20th Century Foreign Newspapers

[One of the stacks in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.]. [1920?]. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

The Division's foreign newspaper collections from the 19th and 20th centuries include microfilm, print, and/or digital formats, varying by title and date. The collection is comprised of hundreds of thousands of reels of microfilm, thousands of original print bound volumes and single 'portfolio issues,' and digitized issues that are accessible on-site via subscription databases or STACKS terminals. The Library's online catalog records for foreign newspapers can be incomplete (dates of available holdings may not be listed) and difficult to decipher. For help determining the availability of specific titles, dates, and formats, please contact reference staff through Ask a Librarian.

The majority of the Division's historic foreign newspapers are held in microfilm format. Search the Library of Congress Online Catalog for known titles, or contact reference staff for assistance with identifying available titles by place or by time period. Request microfilm and print materials via paper call slip at the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room's Circulation Desk; delivery time for microfilm and on-site print materials is 30 minutes. 

Original Print in Bound Volumes: Inventory of Volumes Held in Remote Storage
*Select a country from the left-side navigation menu.

This is a list of foreign newspapers held in original print bound volume format based on an inventory conducted in Fall 1998 and is a good starting point for finding out what is available by place and time period (microfilm holdings are not included in this list). Bound volumes are held in off-site storage in Ft. Meade, MD, and advanced notice of 3-5 days is required for bound volume retrieval and delivery to the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room. For more information about requesting materials please see this page on Using the Collections.

Arranged by country, then city, the inventory indicates the bound volume control number, total volume count, and summary holdings for each title (titles may vary from what is listed). The inventory does not provide detailed holdings; dates listed may have unspecified missing issues. Also, "misc" refers to miscellaneous issues that have been collected separately for each country; these portfolios may include single issues that supplement the holdings of cities listed. Increasingly specific holdings information is provided in the title record in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Where available, the online holdings substitute for holdings indicated in the inventory list.

Detailed holdings of portfolios, bound volumes, and microfilm are available by contacting Reading Room staff.