Complete Independent archive to be digitised with Gale

The Independent has partnered with Gale, part of Cengage Learning, to digitise the complete run of its newspaper from its very first issue to the end of 2012.

The Independent Digital Archive is said to provide a crucial alternative perspective to the views of the British mainstream press of the 20th and 21st centuries and is aimed at becoming 'a key resource for the study of late 20th century and early 21st century media, culture and society'.

The digital archive contains 750,000 pages, covering every issue of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday between 1986 and 2012  – adding an extra layer of perspective to the newspapers already available in Gale’s historical newspaper programme. Users can search, retrieve and browse every article, page and edition of the newspaper in an online environment designed for in-depth teaching and research. The digital archive is intended to offer students and researchers insight not only into the shifting media landscape but also into how contemporary culture, society and politics have been represented in the pivotal years leading up to and beyond the millennium

Seth Cayley, head of research solutions at Cengage Learning EMEA, said: 'The Independent has always been a unique voice in British journalism. When exploring the archive and comparing it to other major newspapers, it is striking just how often it led with a different story to the rest of the British press. The Independent Digital Archive creates an excellent opportunity for researchers to follow the creation of this alternative news agenda.'

Michael Pocock, head of licensing and syndication at The Independent, said: 'We are immensely proud of the rich and varied history of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday. From the very beginning the focus has been on taking a different, unbiased stance and presenting our readers with the information they need in new and imaginative ways. The Independent archive is consequently a treasure trove of fascinating content and we have taken great pleasure in working with Cengage Learning to make it digitally accessible.'

The Independent Digital Archive 1986-2012 forms part of the Gale NewsVault programme, a cross-searchable collection of more than 13 million pages of newspaper and magazine archives, including the Times Digital Archive and the Daily Mail Online. The archive is available as a subscription or one-off purchase to all academic, public and government libraries.