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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Plainfield Public Library

Plainfield, Illinois

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

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3Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1928 to 2019Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

181,150Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

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

Get to know Plainfield, Illinois in earlier years through the newspapers shared in the Plainfield Public Library's digital archive. Its three titles include material from 1928 to 2019.

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

    A selection from Plainfield Public Library: “Enterprise” and “The Enterprise Advantage”.

  • 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.

Historical newspapers can connect a family name with the events and everyday concerns of an earlier time, offering more than a date or a name on its own. Bring a family connection, a question about a familiar place or an interest in local history, and see where the sources lead. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Browse three titles and 181,150 digitized pages, with material from 1928 to 2019. A partnership between Plainfield Public Library and Advantage Archives makes this collection available. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

A family story or a question about a familiar place can lead somewhere unexpected. Browse the titles below and see which detail draws you in.

Enterprise

25,122 pages from 1966 to 1981

The Enterprise

154,204 pages from 1928 to 2019

The Enterprise Advantage

1,824 pages in 2005

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About the Archive

About The Plainfield Public Library's Historical Archives

The Plainfield Public Library provides access to an extensive collection of historical newspapers through its archives. In collaboration with Advantage Preservation , the library offers valuable primary sources that allow the community to explore and engage with their local history. This initiative reflects the library's commitment to enhancing accessibility to historical content for its patrons.

Plainfield Public Library photo 1

About the Library

About The Plainfield Public Library

The library strives to educate, inform, entertain, and culturally enrich its community. The Library’s mission states what the Library will do to achieve its vision. Carrying out the mission is an ongoing process that promotes lifelong learning, civic participation, the joy of reading, and cultural understanding. All library services and programs connect to the mission, and the work of staff helps the Library advance this mission every day.

Library History

The History Of The Plainfield Public Library

Founded in Illinois to serve the community's educational and cultural needs, the library has grown significantly over the years. The library embraces its role as a vital community resource, offering a diverse range of materials and services. Through its historical archives, patrons can access important local history, fostering a deeper connection to their community.

Local History

Did You Know?

The Plainfield Public Library is dedicated to promoting lifelong learning and community engagement through a variety of programs and services. Its mission ensures that all members of the community have the opportunity to enrich their lives through reading and education.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Compare accounts as you trace a story

Start with something you would like to understand about the past of Plainfield. It might be a person, a neighborhood or an event remembered in your family. Use the digital archive shared by the Plainfield Public Library to follow that question into the historical record. 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. Use a report's date to look for earlier or later coverage where those issues are available. Compare what each account says and what it leaves out, treating a related mention as a lead rather than a complete history.

Compare each newspaper account with a nearby dated issue where available, noting what changes or stays consistent. Keep alternate versions and unresolved details visible rather than blending distinct sources into one story. Use those differences to frame a next question, not to settle the account before the sources support it.

Keep source details beside each quotation or observation. If accounts differ, preserve both references and note what remains unresolved. Let the evidence, rather than a smooth retelling, show where the sources agree and where the story is still open.

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Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Plainfield 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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