Discover Santa Clara County History with DigitalReeL

The deep history of Silicon Valley Newspapers can now be accessed from home! Santa Clara County Library District is excited to introduce our newest resource - DigitalReeL. This is a complete digitization of microfilmed Santa Clara County newspapers owned by our library district. The microfilm records have now been digitized with enhanced access and searching capabilities. Discover newspaper articles from Campbell, Gilroy, Saratoga and more from as early as 1895!

DigitalReeL provides different access based on copyright within the public domain. You can access some materials within the library and some at home. To find a full list of which items you can access by location, please look below!

Local Newspapers that can be accessed from home include:

  • Campbell Press      (1895—1896; 1903—1904; 1906—1923)
  • Gilroy Advocate         (1868—1912; 1920—1922)
  • Morgan Hill Sun      (1894—1901)
  • Morgan Hill Times   (1899—1923)
  • Saratoga Item            (1896—1899)
  • Saratoga Springs Item           (1896—1899)
  • Saratoga Star             (1917—1922)
  • The Sun Times           (1901—1906)

 Local Newspapers that can be accessed from the Library are: 

  • The Campbell Press          (1923—1986)
  • The Campbell Sun             (1973)
  • Cupertino Courier             (1972—1976; 1978—2010; 2012—2018)
  • Gilroy Advocate                (1923—1938; 1946)
  • Gilroy Dispatch                   (1944—1999; 2001—2004)
  • Gilroy Evening Dispatch   (1925—1943)
  • Milpitas Post                         (1955—2016)
  • Morgan Hill Life                   (2016—2018)
  • Morgan Hill Sun                  (1894—1901)
  • Morgan Hill Times               (1899—1901; 1906—2018)
  • The Sun Times (Morgan Hill)        (1901—1906)
  • Santa Clara Valley Sun Magazine     (1976—1978)
  • Saratoga Citizen                (1958—1959; 1962)
  • Saratoga Item                    (1896—1899)
  • Saratoga News                  (1955—1960; 1962—1974; 1976—2015)
  • Saratoga Observer           (1949—1955)
  • Saratoga Shopper            (1958)
  • Saratoga Springs Item           (Dec. 1896—Jan. 1897)
  • Saratoga Star                      (1917—1922)
  • Sanborn maps for Campbell (Reel 7: 1905, 1908, 1920, 1928) and Gilroy (Reel 14: 1886, 1892, 1906, 1926).

At this time, up to ten patrons can access this service concurrently. If you are unable to access this service, please check back at a later time. You can find this resource within our eMagazines & Newspaper and in our Genealogy & Local History. 

If you are interested in other Archival resources, our Mercury News Historical Archive has full-text articles on local news, obituaries, and much more from 1886 - 1922. Our Genealogy & Local History section includes access to Ancestry, access to Vital Records and a variety of other helpful archival research resources. 

You can access all of this and more online 24/7 with your Santa Clara County Library card. Apply for one today!