National Library of Australia to digitise newspapers

The National Library of Australia, in collaboration with each Australian state and territory library, has embarked on a plan to digitise out of copyright newspapers. The aim is to build a service that will provide free online access from the first Australian newspaper published in 1803 through to 1954 newspapers. The newspaper digitisation project will vastly improve access for all Australians to one of the most valuable research resources on Australian history and culture. The total cost, funded by the National Library, is expected to be more than $8 million. It is part of a collaborative plan of Australia's state and territory libraries to locate, collect and preserve every newspaper ever published in Australia, with the intention of guaranteeing public access to these important historical records