Newspaper Archive May Be Destroyed
The physical archives of American Media, Inc., may be destroyed. The publisher of many of this nation’s finest tabloids was one of the first places hit with anthrax in 2001. Because anthrax spores are still detected in the building, all of the building’s contents will probably be disposed of as hazardous material.
This is pretty major because, unlike other newspapers, tabloids aren’t really collected by any institution outside of the corporation. It’s not likely that a public library somewhere has the entire run of The National Enquirer. It’s also highly unlikely that microfilm exists for these newspapers. Their content was not sold to vendors. The complete run of five major tabloids are in that building and nowhere else.
Their clipping files date back to 1976; and, the collection was considered to be one of the best for celebrity information in the world.
I’ve met some of the librarians and former librarians of Amerian Media, Inc. I can’t imagine how this decision impacts the company.
Read more about the library in the aftermath of the anthrax attack in News Library News.
