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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Barrington Public Library

Barrington, Rhode Island

Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Barrington.

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1Title

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1958 to 2024Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

196,052Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Barrington, Rhode Island.

Explore the past of Barrington, Rhode Island through newspapers in the Barrington Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes Barrington Times, with material from 1958 to 2024.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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  • Selected title

    Take a closer look at “Barrington Times”, shared by Barrington Public Library.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • Ways to explore

    A familiar name or place can be a starting point. Check the context before connecting a detail to your own story.

Reporting from the time can reveal how people described the events, work and concerns of their day, placing a local story within the history unfolding around it. Whether you are tracing a family connection, exploring a local event or sharing history with a class, there is more to discover than names and dates alone. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Explore Barrington Times through 196,052 digitized pages, with material from 1958 to 2024. This collection is shared through Barrington Public Library's partnership with Advantage Archives. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

A detail you recognize can be a useful first clue. See what the title records and what it leaves open.

Barrington Times

196,052 pages from 1958 to 2024

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About the Library

About the Library

Barrington Public Library provides free access to empowering, life-enriching knowledge—serving as the community hub for discovery and connection. Through its collections, digital archives, and public programs, the library ensures that Barrington’s rich history remains accessible to all.

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About the Archive

Community History Archive

The Barrington Public Library’s Community History Archive offers a fully searchable digital collection of local newspapers, preserving decades of historical reporting for future generations.

Partner Story

The Barrington Times Digitization Project

In October 2023, the Barrington Public Library launched a major effort to preserve and digitize its collection of Barrington Times newspapers. Many physical volumes were deteriorating, requiring immediate restoration or digitization. The library secured a $25,000 LORI (Libraries of Rhode Island) grant to support this initiative. Partnering with Advantage Archives , a leading digital preservation company, the library sent multiple decades of newspapers for digitization. The project was completed in June 2024, and the newly digitized archive became publicly available in August 2024.

Partner Story

Grant and Funding

The Barrington Times Digitization Project was made possible by a LORI (Libraries of Rhode Island) Project grant , awarded by the Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) . Funding was provided through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) .

Partner Story

Additional Resources

Prior to 1958, the Barrington Times was part of the Warren-Barrington Gazette . Archived issues of this earlier publication can be accessed through the George Hail Free Library’s database .

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Follow a report into its setting

A family name, a familiar street or a story passed down through generations can lead to a closer look at the history of Barrington. The digital archive shared by the Barrington Public Library offers a place to begin. When using historical newspapers, try alternate spellings and nearby dates, then read the surrounding page to place a local story in its time. Compare later reporting or another available title to explore different perspectives rather than treating one account as the whole story. Read the headline and neighboring articles as well as the matching lines. The surrounding page can show whether a report is local news, an editorial, or another kind of account; compare its details with later coverage where available.

Take a place or institution mentioned in a report as a new search lead. Check the issue date and read nearby articles to see how the setting is described. Preserve historical names and boundaries as written, and compare another dated reference before connecting the place to a present-day location.

Record which title, date, page, or item supports a useful lead. Mark unanswered questions before connecting it to a family or community story. A similar name can point you toward another source, but it is not proof of identity.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Barrington Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.

Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.

Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.

Learn about partnerships
Read All About It

Stories, research tips, and archive news

Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.

Newest published articles

March 18, 2025

It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?

We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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