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Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Marathon Public Library
Marathon, Iowa
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Marathon.
1890 to 1963Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
28,776Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Marathon, Iowa.
Discover another side of Marathon, Iowa through newspapers preserved in the Marathon Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes Marathon Republic, with material from 1890 to 1963.
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Selected title
The collection shared by Marathon Public Library features “Marathon Republic”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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Ways to explore
Consider when and why the material was created. Keep those details with any quotation or observation you use.
The reporting of earlier years offers a way to explore how events were understood as they happened and how local experiences became part of the historical record. A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.
Explore the collection
Titles in this collection
Explore Marathon Republic through 28,776 digitized pages, with material from 1890 to 1963. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Marathon Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
You may be tracing a family story, exploring a familiar place or simply curious. The source offers a point to begin.
Marathon Republic
28,776 pages from 1890 to 1963
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Partner Story
Our Mission
The Friends of the Malvern Public Library was organized with the purpose to maintain an association of persons interested in libraries; to focus public attention on the library; to stimulate the use of the library's resources and services; to support and cooperate with the library in developing library services and facilities for the community, including projects of a special nature which cannot be otherwise funded; and to support the freedom to read as expressed in the American Library Association Bill of Rights. The Friends pride themselves in being just what the name implies: friends. They work hard and respect the goal of seeking more attractive surroundings for the library--to search for sources to provide materials and inspiration for reading and learning. The Friends are constantly seeking sources to support the goal of reducing building fund debt. Grants have played a crucial role in the search for monies, with an annual application for Endowment Grants for special projects not supported by the library's annual budget.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Look for the story behind a result
The history of Marathon includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Marathon Public Library, begin with a name, place or date connected with the story you want to explore. 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. Search a person, place, or event with a second term, then compare the date and context of each result. A repeated name needs more evidence before it identifies the same person or connects two parts of a story.
After recording the issue and page, search a second term tied to the result and compare the surrounding dates and accounts. Keep matching names provisional until the place and context fit. This can turn one result into a better question without turning a repeated name into a confirmed story.
Capture the title, date, and page or item location for a detail you may want to revisit. Label your interpretation as your reading, not the source's own words. Keep enough context with the note that another reader can retrace it.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Marathon 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
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.
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Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
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This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
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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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