NEWSPLAN

The Newsplan project originated in the mid-nineteen eighties as a co-operative preservation project for newspapers in Ireland and the United Kingdom. There are ten regions involved in Newsplan, one region comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

COLICO has promoted the Newsplan programme in Ireland which ensures the preservation and the future availability of newspapers in Irish libraries.  Newspapers contain an immense amount of material of interest for historians and others engaged in local and national history.  Older newspapers in particular are frequently sought and heavily used by researchers as well as members of the general public.  By their very nature, newspapers are not produced for long-term preservation; the paper used for newsprint is fragile, and repeated use means that newspaper holdings in many libraries are in very poor condition.

The database of all Irish newspapers published since the 17th century, North and South, can be searched from the National Library of Ireland website.