Newspapers capture the stories and perspectives of a single moment in time. Once read, they are meant to be discarded or recycled. But because they capture a moment, they are an important part of the historical record. Researchers, historians and genealogists all rely on newspaper accounts as primary sources of information. And most households have a collection of newspaper clippings—of births, weddings, deaths and everything in between.
In any discussion of newspaper preservation, there are two areas to consider. The first is the preservation of the information, which you can do by photocopying and/or scanning and digitally storing the contents.
The second area is the preservation of the physical newspaper as an important historical artifact. Newspapers are inherently unstable. Printed on a highly acidic wood pulp paper, they become dry, discolored and brittle. Handling them only adds to the damage. So how do we preserve these important resources for generations to come?
Preservation Measures for Newspapers from the Library of Congress.