1Title
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Urbana Free Library
Urbana, Illinois
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Urbana.
2002 to 2008Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
1,864Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Urbana, Illinois.
Explore the past of Urbana, Illinois through Spanish-language newspapers in the Urbana Free Library's digital archive. The archive includes El Informador, with material from 2002 to 2008.
Opens in a new tab.
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Selected title
Begin with “El Informador”, shared by Urbana Free Library.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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Ways to explore
Start with one question, then note what the material helps you establish and what still needs investigation.
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 El Informador through 1,864 digitized pages, with material from 2002 to 2008. This collection is shared through Urbana Free Library's partnership with Advantage Archives. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
Begin with the question that brings you here. The source may offer a clue, a different perspective or a new question to explore.
El Informador
1,864 pages from 2002 to 2008
Opens in a new tab.
About the Archive
About The Urbana Free Public Library’s History Archives
The Urbana Free Public Library provides free and open access to local history through its Community History Archive, offering researchers, genealogists, and community members the ability to explore primary sources that document the people, places, and events of Urbana and Champaign County, Illinois. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives , the archive serves as a searchable platform that delivers practical online access to historical newspapers and materials at no cost. The digital archive includes thousands of pages of historical newspapers spanning approximately 1822 through 2015, offering a detailed snapshot of time and preserving firsthand accounts that reflect “history as it happened” in the region.
About the Library
About The Urbana Free Public Library
The Urbana Free Public Library, located at 210 West Green Street in Urbana, Illinois, serves as a central educational resource and community hub dedicated to lifelong learning and public engagement. The library offers access to books, digital collections, research databases, and public technology, along with programs and services for all ages. A key feature of the library is the Champaign County Historical Archives, which supports research and genealogy by providing access to manuscripts, photographs, records, and other primary source materials. Through its commitment to accessibility and community-based partnerships, the library continues to make local history discoverable for a broad audience.
Library History
The History Of The Urbana Free Public Library
The Urbana Free Public Library was established in 1874, making it one of the earliest public libraries in Illinois. The current historic building, constructed in 1918, reflects the community’s long-standing commitment to public access to knowledge and learning. The Champaign County Historical Archives, established in 1956, later became an official repository for county records and has grown into a research-level collection documenting local life from the 1830s through the present. Over time, the library has expanded both its physical and digital collections, reinforcing its role as a steward of local history and a gateway to primary source materials.
About the Community
About Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois is part of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area and is home to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public universities in the United States. The city has developed as a center for education, research, and cultural activity, with a strong connection to academic and community institutions. Its history reflects growth from a 19th-century settlement into a vibrant college town, with libraries, archives, and local organizations playing an important role in preserving and sharing its collective history.
Local History
Did You Know?
Did you know that the Champaign County Historical Archives at the Urbana Free Public Library holds materials documenting local life from the 1830s to today? This includes over one million photographs, newspapers, maps, and oral histories, offering an extensive record of community development and making Urbana’s history highly discoverable through primary source documents.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Keep publication context with a finding
A familiar name or place can lead to a new view of Urbana. Use the newspaper titles shared by the Urbana Free Library to explore how newspapers described the subject in their own time, and compare available accounts before extending one report into a wider community story. Note the newspaper title, issue date, and page for a useful report. Compare another account where available, and keep differences in timing or perspective visible rather than blending them into a single version.
Save the newspaper title, issue date, and page, then compare another dated account where available. Keep differences in timing and perspective visible so the source context is not lost. If the accounts disagree, record what each source supports and use the difference to shape a further search rather than smoothing them into one version.
A research trail is most useful when it leaves room for what is not yet known. Record the title, date, and page or item reference where available, along with what remains uncertain and which question you want to follow next. Those details help keep a possible connection from becoming an unsupported conclusion.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Urbana Free 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.
May 7, 2025
Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
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May 7, 2025
Don’t Search For An Obituary By Only Searching For An “Obituary”
In the quest to trace our roots and understand our heritage, obituaries often serve as a crucial starting point. Obituaries are undoubtedly…
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April 9, 2025
Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
Even the most esteemed police forces in the county encounter perplexing cold case files. These unsolved mysteries often leave investigators and genealogists…
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April 1, 2025
This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. This week in history, there is absolutely nothing to talk about… April Fools! April…
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March 24, 2025
This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. It has officially been a year since I started writing This Week in History,…
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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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