The Boston Phoenix is reporting that Google "would cease accepting, scanning, and indexing microfilm and other archival material from newspapers" that makes up its Google News Archive Search. "Instead of recent stories, this database retrieves major newspaper and magazine articles and other news archives." Publications can charge users to access this older news content, splitting the fees with Google. "Google says it eventually scanned 60 million pages, covering 250 years," according to The Phoenix. The Google News Archive Search, which "provides [full-text searchable] access to older news information" will continue to exist, it's just that additional archival material will not be added.

Google's relationship with the News Archive always seemed a bit distant. "A link to to the Google News Archive once appeared on the top-right hand side of the Google News home page. It has since been removed, so it's now a little trickier to find the archive. Use the direct URL (https://news.google.com/archivesearch)."

The Phoenix reports that the e-mail the paper received indicates that  "Google said it would continue to support the existing archives it has scanned and indexed. It added, 'We do not, however, plan to introduce any further features or functionality to the digitized news product.'" Instead, the Phoenix says the e-mail stated that Google would focus on "newer projects that help the industry, such as Google One Pass, a platform that enables publishers to sell content and subscriptions directly from their own sites."

PRACTICE TIP:
Before paying for an article, check your public library to see if it's available for free via their remote access service.

Portions of this post are excerpted from:

"Google For Lawyers: Essential Search Tips and Productivity Tools" is a hands-on guide to the Google tools, tips, and tricks that can help you work smarter...not harder.