How do I find an old newspaper article for free?

How to find a newspaper article from 1941?

• I've been trying to find a newspaper article of my great grandfathers death. Supposedly there was one written in the (old) Long Island Press on November 28, 1941 give or take a few days. Where would I find archives for this newspaper? It should be an article about a big car accident.

• Answer:

  If you live in the area where the Long Island Press was published, the local library (maybe just the main library in the system/network) may have the Long Island Press available on microfilm. If so, the library staff may even have compiled an index to articles/notices of deaths from older editions of the newspaper. If you do live in that area, then I recommend you go to the main library for that public library system and talk with a reference librarian there about the possibilities for your research. He/she can direct you regarding what may be best for your research. If you do not live close enough to easily visit the library in the area where the newspaper was published, you can telephone the public library and talk with a reference librarian to find out if the information can be located for you by library staff -- most likely at a cost to you. These days, so many public libraries in the USA have had to take major cuts to their annual budgets (because of the major economic downturn over the past years) and cannot conduct the kind of research you may wish for without requiring payment for the staff time. To find the phone number for the main library in the public library system, I recommend you conduct a search using your favorite search engine (Yahoo, Google, Bing) following this strategy, using the quotation marks as indicated: "public library" "city/town/village name, New York" Examples: "public library" "Great Neck, New York" Another no cost option, if you cannot easily visit the public library in the area where the newspaper was published, is to post your question on one of the regional genealogy message boards and ask someone in the area to conduct a "look-up" for you. Long Island is divided into 2 counties, Suffolk County and Nassau County. So, if you know in which county the newspaper was published, I recommend you post a "the favor of a look up" query on the proper Rootsweb.com New York County Message board: * Nassau County: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.nassau/mb.ashx * Suffolk County: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.suffolk/mb.ashx If you are not already registered (free) with Rootsweb.com, you will need to do that to post a question or answer one. You will also need to include the name of your great grandfather, along with the date you have. You may have to wait a while for someone seeing your request on the message board to reply. I have had luck with posting similar "look-up" requests on Rootsweb.com message boards. Added: This is a link to a question similar to yours that was posted on the Rootsweb.com Message Board for Suffolk County, New York: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.suffolk/433.2.1.2.1.1/mb.ashx Note that the answer was posted/edited in 2003, so the cost for the research has probably increased. This is the main phone # for the library mentioned in the above cited message: 718-990-0700. I recommend you telephone there and talk with a reference librarian about the research and the current cost, if the library still offers the research service. Best wishes