What is the Alternative Press?
This page is a guide to finding serial publications of the non-mainstream media, often referred to as “alternative” or “underground” press publications, which include newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and other types of serial publications. These periodicals tend to be written from an acknowledged political perspective–for example, antiwar–and they often promote a specific agenda. They might, however, report on news that is of interest to a specific community—often a marginalized one—without endorsing any defined ideology. Examples of these might be African American newspapers, gay and lesbian magazines, military newspapers, or publications of immigrant groups. One scholar has defined them as "periodicals aimed at certain minority or dissident groups and usually distributed through irregular channels."1
This guide covers primarily alternative press publications of the United States, with some coverage of Canada and the United Kingdom. African American newspapers are treated in a separate page on this guide.
Alternative newspapers and periodicals are sometimes mistakenly referred to as "underground newspapers." Strictly speaking, an underground publication is one that is published secretly--in other words, the place of publication and identity of the publisher are not disclosed. Most alternative newspapers and periodicals in library collections do not meet this criterion.
Digital Collections
Below are the major digital collections that reproduce alternative periodicals. In some cases, these periodicals are embedded in larger collections of mixed document types (for example: The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives).
- Alt-Press Watch1970-present; mostly United States. Over 670,000 articles from 200 alternative press titles, predominantly news weeklies.
- Independent Voices1951-2015. Over 1,000 alternative press newspapers and periodicals. Currently includes nine subcollections: African American; student protest; feminist; military; LGBTQ; Latino/Latina; literary; American Indian; and radical Right. Click here to view a complete title list for Independent Voices.
- American Prison Newspapers, 1800-2020: Voices from the InsidePrison newspapers and newsletters. Click here to view a title list for American Prison Newspapers.
- Ethnic News Watch1959-present. Newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from ethnic, minority and native presses.
- Gender WatchNewspapers and periodicals with an emphasis on women and gender issues. Indexes publications from 1970-present.
- Herstory Archive: Feminist Newspapers205 periodicals, ca. 1960-2000. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- ProQuest Historical Leftist Newspapers and PeriodicalsOver 100 twentieth century publications, with some outliers (one nineteenth century title, and a few post-2000). The bulk come from the United States, and to a lesser extent Britain and Ireland. Titles are mostly communist and socialist. Part of ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
- ProQuest Historical Communist NewspapersNine labor, socialist, and communist newspapers published in the United States. All nine newspapers are connected to the Daily Worker. Part of ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
- Rock and Roll, Counterculture, Peace and Protest: Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975Emphasis on protest and social change. Archival material from the Browne Popular Culture Library (Bowling Green State University), the Bancroft Library (University of California, Berkeley), the British National Archives, the University of Sussex Library, and the Rock Source Archive.
- The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960-1974Diaries, letters, autobiographies, memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, alternative press periodicals, and scholarly commentary.
- Underderstanding Hate in AmericaNewspapers of the 1920s radical right, as well as contemporaneous publications that opposed right wing extremism.
- Women’s Studies, Feminist Zine Archive67 issues of 30 feminist zines, digitized in full color, ca. 2010-2014, from the collections of Chapman University.
Digital Collections: LGBTQ Newspapers and Periodicals
- Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance Archives, 1972-1994: Part IV: PeriodicalsLGBTQ and feminist newsletters, newspapers, and magazines. Not all titles from the source microfilm set are in the digitized version. click here to view a complete list of periodicals in the microfilm collection. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender in Archives Unbound.
- Chris Gonzalez GLBT Archive CollectionPeriodicals, ca. 1966-1990, from the Indianapolis LGBT community. Source institution: Indiana University Library.
- Gay and Lesbian Community, Support, and Spirit: Selected Newsletters and Periodicals204 periodicals, ca. 1947-2004. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- Gay and Lesbian Politics and Social Activism: Selected Newsletters and Periodicals217 periodicals, ca. 1950-2000. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- Houston and Texas Feminist and Lesbian NewslettersNewsletters, ca. 1970s-1980s. Source institution: University of Houston.
- International Gay and Lesbian Periodicals and Newsletters401 periodicals from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, ca. 1950-2000. Digitized from the collections of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Part I.
- Lesbian Herstory Archives Newsletter Collection361 titles, ca. 1960-2000. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- LGBT Magazine Archive25 periodicals, mostly from Britain and United States, with one French periodical (Arcadie). Coverage varies, but is mostly 1970s forward. Highlights include Advocate (1969-2015), Gay Times (1984-2014), and Out (1992-2015).
- LGBTQ Newspapers and Periodicals Collection from the Lesbian Herstory Archives249 periodicals, primarily from 1970s through 2010. Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- LGBT Thought and CultureBooks, periodicals, and archival materials documenting LGBT political, social and cultural movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day.
- Periodicals from Lambda Archives of San DiegoThree periodicals: Bravo! (1987-1993), Gay and Lesbian Times (1988-2010), and Update (1979-2006). Part of Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- Periodicals from ONE National Gay and Lesbian ArchivesThree periodicals: Ciao! (1973-1980), Gai Pied Hebdo (1950, 1979-1992), and Transgender Tapestry (1985-2008). Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- Periodicals from the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives41 periodicals from Canada and the United States (plus one title from the U.K.). Part of the Archives of Sexuality and Gender.
- Politics, Social Activism and Community Support: Selected Gay and Lesbian Periodicals and NewslettersTRIAL. Over 200 periodicals and newsletters, published between 1947 and 2004, from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered (GLBT) Historical Society, San Francisco. Part of Archives Unbound.
- QZAP (Queer Zine Archive Project) Zine ArchiveLGBTQ zines, mostly from the United States, ca. 1970s-present.
Article Indexes
- Alternative Press Index and Alternative Press Index ArchiveIdentifies articles from alternative newspapers, magazines and journals. Indexes publications from 1969-present. Alternative Press Index file actually only covers 1991-present. To add 1969-1990, you must click "Choose Databases" above search box, and select Alternative Press Index Archive as well.
Microform Collections
The University Library has hundreds of newspapers on microfilm, with coverage back to 1960 and earlier. The best way to check for availability of specific titles, or to browse by date and place of publication, is to consult the Library’s Newspaper Database:
- University of Illinois Library Newspaper DatabaseA catalog of newspapers at the University of Illinois Library. Lists newspapers in all formats--print, microfilm, and digitized. You can search for newspapers by title, or identify newspapers by place of publication, date of publication, or by the newspaper's subject or intended audience. Only includes newspapers that are either the original print publication, or else facsimile reproductions of the original print publication.
You can also search the Newspaper Database for periodicals devoted to a specific subject (for example: feminism, socialism, military, LBGTQ, labor).
Below are listed some of the major microfilm sets:
- Underground Press CollectionCall Number: FILM 071.3 Un2Most titles from the United States and Canada. With printed guide. Coverage: 1963-1985. Supplemented and continued by the Hoover Institution Supplement to Underground Press Collection, the University of Missouri Underground Newspaper Collection, the Alternative Press Collection, and the Underground Press Collection Alternative Press Center Supplement, for all of which see below. Click here to view a complete title list for the Underground Press Collection.
- University of Missouri Library Underground Newspaper CollectionCall Number: FILM 071.3 Un1mMost titles from the United States and Canada. Adds 120 titles to those in the Underground Press Collection (see above). Coverage: 1960s-1970s. With printed guide. Click here to view a complete title list for the University of Missouri Library Underground Newspaper Collection.
- Underground Press Collection. Alternative Press Center SupplementCall Number: FILM 071.3 Un23Further supplements the Underground Newspaper Collection (see above). Library has the complete collection (units 1-8) . Each unit has its own printed guide. Click here to view a complete list of periodicals in the Alternative Press Center Supplement.
- Hoover Institution Supplement to Underground Press CollectionCall Number: FILM 071.3 Un24Supplements the Underground Press Collection (see above): adds missing issues from 88 titles in the original collection, and an additional 178 titles from the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. With printed guide. Click here to view a complete list of titles in the Hoover Institution Supplement to Underground Press Collection.
- Alternative Press CollectionCall Number: FILM 071.3 AL82ISBN: 1059-9908Publication Date: 1989-2003Coverage: 1986-2003, with some outliers (e.g. titles from the 40s, 50s, and 60s). Titles from around the world. Continues the Underground Press Collection (see above). Was an annually updated microfilm collection of alternative newspapers and journals from the 1980s and 1990s. This collection has an annotated list that includes all titles in units 1 through 19, arranged in alphabetical order and by subject. Click here to view a full list of titles in the Alternative Press Collection.
- San Francisco / Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Serial Collection byCall Number: FILM 306.76605 SA5261 titles on 96 microfilm reels. Coverage: 1953-1989. Click here to view a full list of titles in the San Francisco / Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Serial Collection.
- Selected Periodicals and Newsletters from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical SocietyCall Number: ILL106 microfilm reels. Use guide to identify titles.
- Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance Archives, 1972-1994: Part IV: Periodicals byCall Number: FILM 306.76609758 At62LGBTQ and feminist newsletters, newspapers, and magazines. Not all titles from the source microfilm set are in the digitized version Periodicals primarily from the 1970s and 1980s. Many of these periodicals have been digitized and are available in the Archives of Sexuality and Gender in Archives Unbound. Click here to view a complete list of periodicals in the microfilm collection.
- Herstory : Microfilm Edition of the International Women's History Periodical Archive byCall Number: FILM 396 H439Covers mostly the 1960s and 1970s. Journals, newspapers, and newsletters of women's liberation organizations, as well as women's civic, religious, professional, and peace organizations. The collection was issued in five successive parts. Consult the completed guide to understand the complicated arrangement.
- The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa LibrariesCall Number: FILM 320.52 R44Collection of periodicals and ephemera. Coverage: 1918-1977.
Bibliographies, Catalogs, and Guides
- Undergrounds: A Union List of Alternative Periodicals in Libraries of the United States and Canada byCall Number: 016.05 D231UISBN: 9780870201424Publication Date: 1974Although the union list itself is doubtless full of inaccuracies by now, and the entries contain minimal bibliographic data, this source is valuable in that it contains a place of publication index. Also, for each entry, the bibliographers noted whether the periodical was indexed (in Alternative Press Index, mostly), and also whether it had been cited (twenty sources were consulted).
- From Radical Left to Extreme Right: A Bibliography of Current Periodicals of Protest, Controversy, Advocacy, or Dissent, with Dispassionate Content-Summaries to Guide Librarians and other Educators byCall Number: Q. 016.323 M91F 1987Publication Date: 1987
- Alternative Publications: A Guide to Directories, Indexes, Bibliographies, and Other Sources byCall Number: 016.6862025 AL79ISBN: 9780899504841Publication Date: 1990Continues: Alternatives in Print.
- Alternatives in Print byCall Number: 016.30124 T18aISBN: 0093-9188Publication Date: 1971-1980Continued by: Alternative Publications: A Guide to Directories, Indexes, Bibliographies, and Other Sources.
- Annotations: A Guide to the Independent Critical Press byCall Number: 070 An782004ISBN: 096538943XPublication Date: 1999-2004This is the 3rd edition. Lists 385 periodicals. Defines “independent” and “critical” as Leftist. The main part of the guide is a directory of currently published periodicals. Also includes circulation statistics, a subject index, an introductory essay, and much more. See also two previous editions for some retrospective coverage.
- Encyclopedia of the American Left byCall Number: 335.00973 En19 1998Publication Date: 1998Covers left-wing radicalism from the Civil War to the present.
- Directory of the American Left byCall Number: 320.53025 D628Publication Date: 1965-1989Continues: Guide to the American Left.
Continued by: Guide to the American Left. - The Left Guide: A Guide to Left-of-Center OrganizationsCall Number: Q. 320.51 L522Publication Date: 1996-Includes a periodicals listing.
- Underground Press Syndicate Directory byCall Number: 016.071 Un22Publication Date: 1968-1970Thin volume. Annotations do not indicate editorial character of the publications listed, but these would mostly be Left and far left periodicals.
- Directory of the American Right byCall Number: Q. 322.43025 D62Publication Date: 1969-1991Continues: Guide to the American Right..
Continued by: Guide to the American Right.. - The Right Guide: A Guide to Conservative and Right-of-Center Organizations byCall Number: Q. 320.5202573 R4491997Publication Date: 1997-Includes a periodicals listing.
- Censored: Hard-to-Locate Sources of Information on Current Affairs byCall Number: 011.7 C81SISBN: 0933152027Publication Date: 1971-1982Right and far right news sources. Not all editions are available at University of Illinois.
- International Directory of Gay and Lesbian Periodicals byCall Number: 016.30676605 M295IISBN: 0897742974Publication Date: 1987
- Our Own Voices: A Directory of Lesbian and Gay Periodicals, 1890-1990: Including the Complete Holdings of the Canadian Gay Archives byCall Number: 016.30676605 M612OISBN: 0969098162Publication Date: 1991Not just Canadian periodicals, and a very large number of periodicals published in the United States.
- The Directory of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Community Publications in the United States and Canada byCall Number: 016.30670625 So69d 1993Publication Date: 19932nd ed.
- The Lesbian Periodicals Index byCall Number: 016.3067663 P851LPublication Date: 1986Subject index to articles in 42 lesbian periodicals, ca. 1947-1985.
- The Queer Press Guide byCall Number: 070.4493059 H24qISBN: 1891305174Publication Date: 1999Continued by: Harris Guide.
- The Harris Guide: The Directory of the world's GLBT Press, Now including Both Print and Broadcasting Media byCall Number: 070.4493059 H24qPublication Date: 2001-Continues: Queer Press Guide.
- Checklist of Periodicals in the New York Public Library Gay and Lesbian Information Center Archives byCall Number: 016.3076 ONLINEPublication Date: 2006A catalog of gay and lesbian periodicals at the New York Public Library, but useful for identifying publications. Use University of Illinois Library Catalog and University of Illinois Newspaper Database to check for availability here. Titles not in our collection might be available through interlibrary loan.
- Radical Periodicals in America, 1890-1950: A Bibliography with Brief Notes byCall Number: 016.33505 G58R1966Publication Date: 1966Includes a very useful guide to the major radical parties and movements during this time period, as well as information on their relationship to each other (presented as a genealogical chart).
Notes
1. Mary Allcorn, The Underground Newspaper Collection of the University of Missouri Libraries (Ann Arbor: UMI, 1992), i.