NewspaperSG - Frequently Asked Questions

What is NewspaperSG?

NewspaperSG is an online archive of Singapore newspapers. You can search our digital archive of newspapers published since 1827.

How do I search the digitised newspaper collection?

Enter your keyword(s) in the search box. The search engine will retrieve articles containing all of your search terms.

To search an exact phrase, place quotation marks around your search terms, for example "Singapore River".
You can use also the Boolean operator OR to expand your search. E.g. kampong OR kampung will retrieve articles containing the words kampong or kampung.
Alternatively, you can use the Boolean operator NOT to narrow your search. E.g. kallang NOT airport will retrieve articles about Kallang but not Kallang Airport.

What is the Search Term Visualiser?

The Search Term Visualiser charts the frequency a keyword or phrase occurs over a given timeline. Type in a keyword or phrase for a visual representation of its availability across the years. Add other keywords or phrases to compare the results or view where they intersect. You can also filter by title, date range and content type. You may share the chart generated by the Search Term Visualiser via social media.

What is Most Viewed Articles?

This feature allows you to view the top 5 most viewed articles in NewspaperSG for the past month. You will be brought to the article when you click on any of the top 5 most viewed articles.

What is This Week in History?

This Week in History highlights a particular week in Singapore's history as reported in the newspapers at that time. Clicking Read More will bring you to the first page of the newspaper issue highlighted.

Why are there mistakes in the article extract?

The searchable newspaper text that appears in the article extract has been automatically generated using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. OCR is a process by which software reads a page image and translates it into a text file by recognising the shapes of the letters (The NINCH Guide to Good Practice in the Digital Representation and Management of Cultural Heritage Materials). OCR enables searching of large quantities of full-text data, but it is never 100% accurate. The level of accuracy depends on the print quality of the original newspaper, its condition at the time of microfilming, and the level of detail captured by the microfilm scanner. Newspapers with poor quality paper, small print, mixed fonts, multiple column layouts, or damaged pages may have poor OCR accuracy.

What are the titles in the digitised newspaper collection?

Newspaper	Issues Digitised
Under SPH Media
Berita Harian/Minggu	1957 - 2014
City Weekly	1994 - 1999
New Nation	1971 - 1982
Project Eyeball	2000
Sin Chew Pictorial	1971
Sin Chew Weekly	1971 - 1982
Sin Chew Youth	1979 - 1981
Singapore Daily News	1932 - 1933
Singapore Daily Times	1868, 1877 - 1882
Singapore Monitor	1982 - 1985
Straits Times Overland Journal	1869 - 1881
Straits Times Weekly Issue	1883 - 1893
Streats	2000 - 2004
Tabla	2008 - 2011
The Business Times	1976 - 2015
The New Paper	1988 - 2014
The Singapore Free Press	1925 - 1962
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1835–1869)	1835 - 1866
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942)	1884 - 1942
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly)	1888 - 1929
The Straits Budget	1894 - 1969
The Straits Times	1845 - 2017
The Straits Times : Weekly Overseas Edition	1987 - 2003
The Straits Times Annual	1905 - 1982
Timeszone Central	1989 - 1992
Weekend East	1986 - 1999
南洋商报 (Nanyang Siang Pau)	1923 - 1983
新明日报 (Shin Min Daily News)	1967 - 1987, 1993 - 2003
星洲日報 (Sin Chew Jit Poh)	1929, 1934, 1936, 1939 - 1941, 1951 - 1983
联合早报 Lianhe Zaobao)	1983 - 2011
联合晚报 (Lianhe Wanbao)	1983 - 2011
Under Mediacorp
TODAY/ Weekend TODAY	2000 - 2017
Other Publishers
Bintang Pranakan	1930 - 1931
Bintang Timor	1894
Comrade	1946
Daily Advertiser	1890 - 1894
Eastern Daily Mail and Straits Morning Advertiser	1905 - 1907
Eastern Sun	1966 - 1971
Indian Daily Mail	1946 - 1956
Indo-Chinese Patriot	1900
Kabar Kawat Malayu	1924 - 1926
Kabar Slalu	1924
Kabar Uchapan Baru	1926 - 1931
Malaya Tribune	1914 - 1951
Malayan Saturday Post	1924 - 1933
Mid - day Herald	1895 - 1898
Morning Tribune	1927 - 1949
Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register	1827 - 1837
Singapore Herald	1970 - 1971
Singapore Standard	1950 - 1959
Singapore Weekly Herald	1888 - 1889
Straits Advocate	1889
Straits Budget	1894 - 1969
Straits Chinese Herald	1894
Straits Daily Advertiser	1900
Straits Eurasian Advocate	1888
Straits Independent	1889 – 1896
Straits Mail	1894 - 1895
Straits Maritime Journal	1895 - 1896
Straits Observer (Singapore)	1874 - 1897
Straits Telegraph and Daily Advertiser	1899
Shonan Times/ Syonan Shimbun	1942 - 1945
Sunday Standard	1950 - 1959
Sunday Tribune (Singapore)	1933 - 1950
Syonan Shimbun Fortnightly	1945
Weekly Sun	1910 - 1913
Malayan Newspapers
Malacca Guardian	1928 - 1929
Penang Patriot	1898 - 1900
Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle	1838 - 1941
Prince of Wales Island Gazette	1833
Straits Echo	1903 - 1918
The Malacca Weekly	1888 - 1889
The Penang Patriot	1898 - 1900
The Penang Times	1882
The Penang Standard and Mercantile Advertiser	1879
The Straits Chronicle	1945 - 1946
The Straits Echo (Mail Edition)	1904 - 1931

Can I zoom to a particular section of the newspaper page?

Yes. The zoom feature is provided at the page level. To view an article from the full page, click on "Show Article Zones", and select by clicking within the article boundary.

Can I download a copy of the article?

No, you cannot download a copy of the article.

How can I get an un-watermarked copy of a newspaper article for reference and research purposes?

You can get an un-watermarked copy of the newspaper article from the multimedia stations at selected NLB libraries (please see here for more information). Please collect your prints from the Print Console located at the Photocopying Room or next to the multimedia stations.

If you are based overseas and would like the article reproductions to be sent to you, you can place a document delivery request with us here. Our document delivery team will contact you within 3 working days to liaise further on the details of your request. Please note that all reprographic prints are supplied strictly for reference and research purposes only.

What can't I view from home?

Home users will not be able to view articles from third-party news sources (such as Reuters, AFP and AP) that were published in the last 70 years. Users will also not be able to view articles published in the last 25 years for SPH Media's newspapers. This includes Berita Harian, The Business Times, 联合晚报 (Lianhe Wanbao), 联合早报 (Lianhe Zaobao), The New Paper, The Straits Times and Tamil Murasu (தமிழ் முரசு).

Why are illustration and continuation of an article on another page sometimes mismatched to the main article?

Article zoning and linking are done manually. The high-volume of articles digitised contributes to occurrence of human errors. NLB is proactively seeking to improve the situation.

Why are some page numbers displayed incorrectly?

Newspaper supplement is not treated as a separate section. The page numbers in a supplement run in continuation from the Main section.

At Browse Newspaper:

a) What is Access Anywhere?

You can access the content of the issue from home or at the libraries.

b) What is Page View Only?

Search function is not available to locate content in newspapers under Page View Only. The following are the newspapers currently available for page viewing only:

Newspaper Titles	Digitised Issues
Jawi Peranakkan	1881 - 1885
Pana Times	1985 - 1987
星洲日報 (Sin Chew Jit Poh)	1951 - 1978
Singai Nesan Tamil Journal	1887 - 1890
தமிழ் முரசு (Tamil Murasu)	1936 - 2008
Warta Malaya	1933 - 1941
Warta Perang	1941

c) What is Multiple Editions?

Sometimes a particular newspaper title may publish two or more editions on the same day.

d) What is On Site Access Only?

You can only access the content of the issue from the multimedia stations at selected NLB libraries (please see here for more information).

e) What is Unavailable Content?

This could be gap in our collection or no issue was published on that date.

I wish to republish an article from the digitised newspaper collection, in print or electronically. Is that permitted?

If you want to republish an article from the newspapers listed below, please contact SPH Media's Information Resource Centre at:

Tel: +65 6319 5726; +65 6319 5508
Email address: sphlib@sph.com.sg

Newspaper

Berita Harian/Minggu
City Weekly
New Nation
Project Eyeball
Sin Chew Pictorial
Sin Chew Weekly
Sin Chew Youth
Singapore Daily News
Singapore Daily Times
Singapore Monitor
Straits Times Overland Journal
Straits Times Weekly Issue
Streats
Tabla
The Business Times
The New Paper
The Singapore Free Press
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1835–1869)
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942)
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly)
The Straits Budget

The Straits Times
The Straits Times : Weekly Overseas Edition
The Straits Times Annual
Timeszone Central
Weekend East
南洋商报 (Nanyang Siang Pau)
新明日报 (Shin Min Daily News)
星洲日報 (Sin Chew Jit Poh)
联合早报 Lianhe Zaobao)
联合晚报 (Lianhe Wanbao)
தமிழ் முரசு (Tamil Murasu)

For newspapers not on this list, please email to: ref@nlb.gov.sg.

How do I search the Microfilm Catalogue?

Enter keyword(s) of a newspaper title in the search box. The search engine will retrieve newspaper titles containing all your search terms. You may also search using Chinese or Tamil scripts.

To retrieve all newspaper titles for a particular date range, place of publication, and/or language, leave the search box empty, select your search parameters and then run your search.

Where can I find the Microfilm Collections?

The Newspapers on Microfilm collection is housed at the:

Singapore and Southeast Asian Collections
Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, Level 11
National Library Singapore
National Library Building
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064

How much does it cost to print from microfilm?

Please see here for further information.

Where else can I access online archives of Singapore newspapers?

You can also find online archives of current Singapore newspapers in databases subscribed by the library. To access these databases, go to NLB eResources page, look for "Browse By Type", and click on "eNewspapers". You may wish to note that access to the Singapore newspapers in these databases may only be available to patrons using the multimedia media stations at selected NLB libraries (please see here for more information).

Online newspaper archives are also available directly from the publishers.

Archived issues of TODAY are available to registered TODAY online members at http://www.todayonline.com.

Could you remove an article containing personal or family information please?

The NewspaperSG portal provides a digital reproduction of what has already been published in newspapers, and is in the public domain. NLB does not make changes to what has been published, as these are publicly available information.

Why are some articles not available on microfilm?

Content in NewspaperSG are digitised from various sources, collections and formats. Please use the Newspapers on Microfilm catalogue to check our holdings.