The library’s entire microfilm collection of historical East Peoria newspapers has been digitized and is now accessible as the East Peoria Newspaper Archive! The collection includes more than 80,000 digitized pages of East Peoria-area history from 1917 to 2013.
Searchable by date, newspaper title, and keywords, titles include The Tazewell Courier, East Peoria Courier, East Peoria Times-Courier, The East Peoria Post, Citadel Community News, Illinois Valley Herald, and the East Side News. The library’s collection is now part of the Community History Archive that contains more than 125 million documents and images from central Illinois and across the United States. These archives are valuable additions to other free library website resources including the Illinois State Archives, The National Archives, and The Digital Public Library of America.
The digital microfilm archive project was made possible by and funded from a generous donation left to the library by Raymond and Peg Bahnfleth.
FDL is now also registered as a FamilySearch Affiliate Library! FamilySearch Affiliate libraries have access to digital genealogical collections that are otherwise only accessible on-location at a FamilySearch center. Accessing FamilySearch while on FDL's computers or wi-fi network allows you to search unique local and national historical records that are not available outside of the library. FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world, adding hundreds of millions of free records and images online every year.
Looking for more local history or genealogy resources? Visit FDL in person to view in-house collections, or browse our dozens of other online research databases. Start your journey today!