Old News, New Evidence: Historical US Newspapers and Legal Research

Old News, New Evidence: Historical US Newspapers and Legal Research

Thursday, May 21 from noon to 1pm ET

Zoom Link (no need to register): https://bsy.sh/4PdAt6i

Please join Harvard Law School Library researchers to explore the history of newspapers and their uses in legal research. Starting with an overview of newspapers as disseminators of the law and as shapers of the nation, they will then offer examples and cautionary tales about how “the first drafts of history” have been used to provide evidence, uncover buried histories, and offer windows into the past. Their presentation will cover strategies for using historical newspapers in the digital age, highlighting obstacles and showcasing resources.  

Shay Elbaum is a Faculty Research Librarian at the Harvard Law School Library, where he does a little bit of everything but focuses on supporting law school faculty with their scholarly research. He is working on an article about historical newspapers as neglected sources of legislative history. 

Molly Hardy currently serves as the Project Lead for the Public Data Project at Harvard Law School’s Library Innovation Lab. Previously, as a senior program officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities, she managed Chronicling America, a collaboration with the Library of Congress and libraries throughout the country. Her most recent article, “Newspapers and Memory,” can be found in the Cambridge History of the American Revolution (2026).

This event is jointly hosted by Harvard Law School Library Innovation Lab and the Association of Boston Law Libraries.