Guardian and Observer launch paid-for archive

by Kate Gibbs, Media Week 15-Oct-07, 15:45

LONDON - More than two centuries of material published in The Guardian and Observer newspapers will become available online in a new digital archive.

The first phase of the project will be launched in November, and will include The Guardian’s coverage of the Kennedy assassination in 1963 and Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

The digital archive will be a paid-for service, and will allow users to view Guardian and Observer archive material at both the page and story level.

Guardian material from 1821 to 1975 and The Observer from 1900 to 1975 will become available on 3 November. Material from the Observer from 1791 to 1900 and after 1975, and from the Guardian after 1975, will become available next year. Content dating from 2003 onwards will be freely accessible, and all content will be free to view during November.
In total, the service will make more than 1.2 million pages of news content available online at guardian.co.uk/archive.
The Guardian Media Group said the move would ensure the papers’ legacy is preserved, as microfilm and paper archives degrade with age.