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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

La Salle Public Library

LaSalle, Illinois

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

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3Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1906 to 1928Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

120,812Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of LaSalle, Illinois.

Explore the past of LaSalle, Illinois through newspapers in the La Salle Public Library's digital archive. Its three titles include material from 1906 to 1928.

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

    The collection from La Salle Public Library includes “La Salle Weekly Tribune” and “The Daily Post Tribune”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • A closer look

    An earlier generation comes into view through the stories its newspapers chose to report, placing familiar names and events within the concerns of their time.

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

Browse three titles and 120,812 digitized pages, with material from 1906 to 1928. This collection is shared through La Salle Public Library's partnership with Advantage Archives. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

Explore the titles below for a closer look at the places, people and everyday life of earlier generations.

La Salle Weekly Tribune

7,796 pages from 1906 to 1916

The Daily Post Tribune

14,624 pages from 1926 to 1928

The La Salle Daily Tribune And Peru Evening Press

98,392 pages from 1906 to 1926

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About the Archive

About The LaSalle Public Library’s History Archives

The LaSalle Public Library provides free and open access to local history through its Community History Archive, allowing residents, researchers, genealogists, and historians to explore primary sources documenting the people, places, and events that shaped La Salle and the Illinois Valley region. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives , the archive offers practical online access to historical newspapers and community records through a searchable digital platform available at no cost. The archive includes thousands of digitized newspaper pages spanning the mid-19th century through the modern era, preserving firsthand accounts and a snapshot of time that reflects “history as it happened” in La Salle County. These materials support genealogy, educational research, and community engagement while helping ensure long-term accessibility to important local cultural assets.

About the Library

About The LaSalle Public Library

The LaSalle Public Library, located at 305 Marquette Street in La Salle, Illinois, serves as a central educational resource and community hub for residents throughout the Illinois Valley. The library provides access to books, digital resources, research databases, public computers, and educational programming that support literacy, lifelong learning, and community engagement. In addition to traditional library services, the library maintains local history and genealogy resources that help preserve the region’s collective history and improve accessibility to historical content. Through its participation in regional library systems and digital initiatives, the library continues expanding access to educational and historical resources for both local users and online researchers.

Library History

The History Of The LaSalle Public Library

The LaSalle Public Library traces its origins to the late 19th century when community leaders recognized the importance of creating a permanent public library for the growing industrial city of La Salle. The library formally opened in 1896 and later moved into a Carnegie-funded library building completed in 1907, reflecting the national movement to expand public access to education and reading materials. Over time, the library expanded its collections, services, and outreach efforts to meet the evolving needs of the community. Its continued involvement in local history preservation and digitization initiatives reflects a longstanding commitment to safeguarding historical records and improving public accessibility to primary source materials.

About the Community

About La Salle, Illinois

La Salle is a city located along the Illinois River in La Salle County, Illinois, and played an important role in the state’s industrial and transportation history. Founded in the 1830s, the city developed rapidly following the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River system. Coal mining, zinc production, glass manufacturing, and rail transportation later contributed to the city’s economic growth and attracted immigrant workers from across Europe. Today, La Salle remains part of the Illinois Valley region and continues preserving its industrial and cultural heritage through local institutions, museums, and archives.

Local History

Did You Know?

Did you know that La Salle’s Carnegie library building, completed in 1907, was funded through a grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie? The building became an important symbol of public education and access to knowledge during a period when Carnegie libraries were transforming communities across the United States by expanding free public library services.

La Salle Public Library photo 1

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Trace a name across nearby issues

A family name, a familiar street or a story passed down through generations can lead to a closer look at the history of LaSalle. The digital archive shared by the La Salle 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.

If a name does not appear, try an alternate spelling or a related term, then read around any match. Note the issue date and page so a result stays connected to its context. Use those details to follow a story without treating one search result as a complete answer.

Build a trail through the past that someone else can follow: record the title, date, page or item reference, and a link when available. Keep historical quotations distinct from your own interpretation. If accounts disagree, note what each source supports before deciding how the details fit together in a family or community story.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the La Salle 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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