Readex Launches the Digital Archive of Americana

From the Formative Years of the American Nation to Its more Recent Decades, New Web-Based Collections Present U.S. History Unvarnished

NAPLES, Fla./October 19, 2004 — Following its 50-year tradition of publishing renowned historical collections, Readex, a leading publisher of online historical collections, has announced the creation of a Web-based Archive of Americana featuring fully text-searchable facsimile images. This new resource, comprised of four major primary source collections, provides online access to the printed record of the American nation. Researchers, writers, scholars and students now have a unique means of exploring the history and culture of the United States.

The cornerstone of the Archive of Americana is Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800, based on Charles Evans’ historic “American Bibliography.” This collection contains nearly every book, pamphlet and broadside published in America from 1639 to 1800. Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 continues the Evans bibliography and includes books, pamphlets and broadsides published in America between 1801 and 1819. Together, these two collections provide a valuable resource for studying many aspects of early American life, including history, literature, religion and more.

Complementing Early American Imprints is Early American Newspapers, Series I, 1690-1876, based on Charles Brigham’s "History and Bibliography of American Newspapers." The largest collection of its kind, Early American Newspapers presents cover-to-cover reproductions of hundreds of rare newspapers and millions of issues. This collection vividly captures the civic, political, social and cultural events of American life over nearly two centuries.

Published in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society—an independent research library focusing on American history, literature, and culture through 1876—these three collections will be widely used by researchers in 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century American history, literature and politics as well as in African American, Native American and women’s studies.

The fourth collection in the Readex Archive of Americana is the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980 with American State Papers, 1789-1838. Revealing events as they unfolded and decisions as they were made, these volumes of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also include color maps and illustrations and an abundance of non-congressional publications. A national effort among the Library of Congress, Dartmouth College, Stanford University and Readex is behind the creation of this rich digital resource, which will allow users to uncover novel connections between historical people and events.

As Readex enters its sixth decade, its president David Braden says, “At its heart, our goal today remains the same: to be leaders in fostering a greater understanding of American history for scholars, researchers, teachers and students at all levels. Only by understanding America in its youth can we understand America as it enters the 21st century. And only the Archive of Americana allows us to so fully understand America’s peoples, politics and everyday life.”

About Readex
For more than 50 years, the Readex name has been synonymous with research in historical printed materials and government documents. Recognized by librarians, students and scholars for its efforts to transform academic research, Readex offers a wealth of Web-based, primary source materials in the humanities and social sciences. Today, Readex, a division of NewsBank, inc., has established a leadership position among publishers by creating the digital Archive of Americana, a family of online collections that provides unprecedented access to the history, culture and daily life of the United States over more than three centuries.