Mission Statement
The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library (HPNL) and the African American Research Center serve students and researchers in the fields of history, philosophy, religious studies, African American studies, and Jewish studies. We provide a core research collection and subject expertise. We teach University of Illinois students how to do research in our areas, and we are a resource for faculty here and around the world, as well as for community members.
HPNL also serves anyone who uses historical newspapers as a source for research. The University of Illinois Library has an outstanding collection of rare original print newspapers. Older print newspapers are very large and fragile, but researchers can consult them in HPNL with the assistance of specially-trained staff. HPNL builds and manages a large collection of commercially-available digitized historical newspapers, and partners with the Library’s Preservation Department to digitize our own unique print newspaper collection.
In addition, HPNL holds the bulk of the University Library’s microfilm collection (over 250,000 reels), and is a destination for finding, viewing, scanning, and digitally manipulating microfilmed content.
Interested in learning more about HPNL and the African American Research Center? Visit us in the Main Library, Room 246, or explore our website.