GLAM Workbench
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Trove newspapers: data dashboard¶

Trove's collection of digitised newspapers is always changing – new articles and newspapers are being added by the NLA, while Trove users are busy correcting OCRd text and adding tags and comments. The search you run today might produce different results than the same query did a month ago, a year ago, or ten years ago. Researchers need to understand how these changes affect the queries they make, the results they find, and the arguments they construct. This dashboard helps researchers understand the context of their queries by presenting a snapshot of Trove's digitised newspapers, based on weekly data harvests. It shows Trove's current make up from a number of angles, as well as highlighting recent changes. It is updated every Sunday.

  • Total articles and user activity
  • Total articles by publication year
  • Total articles by publication year and state
  • Article categories
  • Newspaper titles
  • Total articles by publication state
  • Significant events
Last updated: Sunday, 2 July 2023

Total articles and user activity¶

Latest data harvest 02 July 2023
First data harvest 24 April 2022
Total harvests 63
Data https://github.com/wragge/trove-newspaper-totals/blob/master/data/total_articles_by_activity.csv

As of 02 July 2023 there are 239,601,181 digitised newspaper articles in Trove.

  Current total Change since 25 Jun 2023 Change since 04 Jun 2023 Change since 24 Apr 2022 Percentage of total
All articles 239,601,181 196,628 839,180 5,089,091 100.00%
Articles with corrections 14,902,660 15,900 67,341 1,047,121 6.22%
Articles with tags 4,762,690 3,539 17,023 359,696 1.99%
Articles with comments 265,674 359 1,788 26,983 0.11%

Total articles by publication year¶

Latest data harvest 02 July 2023
First data harvest 19 April 2022
Total harvests 59
Data https://github.com/wragge/trove-newspaper-totals/blob/master/data/total_articles_by_year.csv

This chart shows the total number of digitised newspaper articles by year of publication. The distribution will change over time as digitisation priorities shift and more newspapers are added. This chart is useful in understanding how digitisation priorities and copyright restraints have shaped the total newspaper corpus.


Total articles by publication year and state¶

Latest data harvest 02 July 2023
First data harvest 19 April 2022
Total harvests 59
Data https://github.com/wragge/trove-newspaper-totals/blob/master/data/total_articles_by_year_and_state.csv

This interactive chart helps you explore the distribution of articles by both publication year and state. Click on a state in the bar chart or legend to filter the results by year. Click anywhere in the background of the chart to reset. This enables you to compare digitisation patterns in different states and see how they contribute to the whole corpus.

Total articles added since 25 Jun 2023 by publication year and state

This chart shows the total number of digitised newspaper articles added since the previous harvest by year and place of publication. It's useful in seeing how search results from particular time periods and locations might be affected by current digitisation priorities.

Total articles added since 19 Apr 2022 by publication year and state

This chart shows the total number of digitised newspaper articles added since the first harvest by year and place of publication. It's useful in seeing how search results from particular time periods or locations might be affected by recent digitisation priorities.


Article categories¶

Latest data harvest 02 July 2023
First data harvest 20 April 2022
Total harvests 64
Data https://github.com/wragge/trove-newspaper-totals/blob/master/data/total_articles_by_category.csv
  Current total Change since 25 Jun 2023 Change since 04 Jun 2023 Change since 20 Apr 2022 Percentage of total
Advertising 44,818,178 45,791 200,519 1,316,471 18.705%
Article 166,158,663 135,715 543,503 3,366,203 69.348%
Arts And Culture 4,393 11 75 1,023 0.002%
Classified Advertisements And Notices 1,506 1 21 83 0.001%
Commerce And Business 5,063 27 93 2,067 0.002%
Detailed Lists, Results, Guides 26,651,241 10,985 86,229 399,280 11.123%
Display Advertisement 495 0 0 31 0.000%
Editorial 17,149 57 247 3,742 0.007%
Family Notices 1,985,592 4,174 9,110 50,789 0.829%
Humour 32,140 270 688 4,632 0.013%
Law, Courts, And Crime 11,078 25 92 1,615 0.005%
Letters 13,415 18 60 1,405 0.006%
Literature 35,958 3 146 996 0.015%
News 12,701 30 160 2,283 0.005%
Obituaries 14,012 36 122 2,879 0.006%
Official Appointments And Notices 1,156 11 27 91 0.000%
Puzzles 49,857 122 490 9,925 0.021%
Reviews 2,713 11 104 732 0.001%
Shipping Notices 2,731 10 42 926 0.001%
Sport And Games 19,509 33 190 4,969 0.008%
Weather 15,722 121 468 6,365 0.007%

Newspaper titles¶

Latest data harvest 02 July 2023
First data harvest 20 April 2022
Total harvests 61
Data https://github.com/wragge/trove-newspaper-totals/blob/master/data/total_articles_by_newspaper.csv

As of 02 July 2023 there are 1,776 different newspapers in Trove.

Total newspapers 1,776
Earliest publication date 05 March 1803
Latest publication date 19 December 2022

Newspapers by state of publication¶

This chart shows the place of publication of newspaper titles in Trove.

Changes in the number of newspapers by state of publication¶

  Current total Change since 25 Jun 2023 Change since 04 Jun 2023 Change since 20 Apr 2022 Percentage of total
ACT 8 0 0 0 0.43%
International 13 0 0 0 0.70%
National 9 0 0 4 0.49%
New South Wales 539 2 3 24 29.23%
Northern Territory 8 0 0 0 0.43%
Queensland 106 0 0 2 5.75%
South Australia 155 1 1 1 8.41%
Tasmania 115 0 0 0 6.24%
Victoria 436 1 7 29 23.64%
Western Australia 382 0 3 32 20.72%

Newspapers added since 25 Jun 2023

  • No newspapers added in this period.

Newspapers added since 04 Jun 2023

title_id title state total link
1839 Woodend Star and Macedon Advocate (Vic. : 1942 - 1955) Victoria 13343.000000 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1839
1849 Dubbo Dispatch (NSW : 1942) New South Wales 10426.000000 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1849
1851 Hills Gazette (Port Adelaide, SA: 1973 - 1984) South Australia 31086.000000 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1851
1857 The Pastoral Times and Deniliquin Telegraph (Deniliquin, NSW : 1859 - 1861) New South Wales 372.000000 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1857
1860 Pastoral Times and Deniliquin and Echuca Chronicle (NSW : 1862) New South Wales 595.000000 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1860

Changes in the number of articles from newspapers since 25 Jun 2023

title_id title change in articles link
88 Queanbeyan Age (NSW : 1927 - 1971) 14,000 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title88
240 Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle (Vic. : 1882 - 1946) 7,473 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title240
302 Williamstown Advertiser (Vic. : 1875 - 1954) 132,505 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title302
592 Omeo Standard and Mining Gazette (Vic. : 1893 - 1928) 3,228 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title592
769 The Woodend Star (Vic. : 1888 - 1942) 12,595 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title769
1775 The Berrigan Advocate (Cobram, NSW. : 1891 - 1969) 17,548 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1775
1839 Woodend Star and Macedon Advocate (Vic. : 1942 - 1955) 9,279 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1839

Changes in the number of articles from newspapers since 04 Jun 2023

title_id title change in articles link
88 Queanbeyan Age (NSW : 1927 - 1971) 27,397 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title88
240 Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle (Vic. : 1882 - 1946) 7,473 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title240
302 Williamstown Advertiser (Vic. : 1875 - 1954) 143,459 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title302
370 Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1965; 1992 - 2002) 67,079 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title370
436 The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW : 1860 - 1938) 3,521 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title436
592 Omeo Standard and Mining Gazette (Vic. : 1893 - 1928) 14,817 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title592
614 Tungamah and Lake Rowan Express and St. James Gazette (Vic. : 1883 - 1920) 54,294 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title614
752 Kyabram Free Press and Rodney and Deakin Shire Advocate (Vic. : 1894 - 1954) 147,967 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title752
753 Kyabram Guardian (Vic. : 1907 - 1930) 56,459 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title753
769 The Woodend Star (Vic. : 1888 - 1942) 85,193 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title769
1775 The Berrigan Advocate (Cobram, NSW. : 1891 - 1969) 21,679 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1775
1812 Pastoral Times and Echuca and Moama Chronicle (Deniliquin, NSW : 1863 - 1866) 32 https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1812

Total articles by publication state¶

Data about the number of articles by publication place (state) is available both from the main result API using the state facet, and from the newspaper API. As noted under Significant events, these totals don't always agree. I've included both below, so you can compare.

Number of articles by state of publication (via result API)¶

Number of articles by state of publication (via newspaper API)¶

Changes in the number of articles by state of publication (via result API)¶

  Current total Change since 25 Jun 2023 Change since 04 Jun 2023 Change since 19 Apr 2022 Percentage of total
ACT 3,296,997 0 0 0 1.376%
International 854,022 0 0 2,842 0.356%
National 657,326 0 0 204,582 0.274%
New South Wales 82,512,064 31,548 100,951 -387,609 34.437%
Northern Territory 409,433 0 0 0 0.171%
Queensland 41,128,577 0 0 38,641 17.165%
South Australia 24,957,900 0 98,165 395,045 10.416%
Tasmania 15,850,246 0 0 74 6.615%
Victoria 44,563,804 165,080 523,005 4,300,909 18.599%
Western Australia 25,364,142 0 117,059 674,340 10.586%

Changes in the number of articles by state of publication (via newspaper API)¶

  Current total Change since 25 Jun 2023 Change since 04 Jun 2023 Change since 19 Apr 2022 Percentage of total
ACT 3,296,997 0 0 0 1.376%
International 854,022 0 0 0 0.356%
National 663,996 0 0 211,837 0.277%
New South Wales 82,475,135 32,515 64,022 541,478 34.422%
Northern Territory 409,433 0 0 0 0.171%
Queensland 41,128,577 0 0 38,641 17.165%
South Australia 24,957,900 31,086 98,165 397,121 10.416%
Tasmania 15,850,246 0 0 74 6.615%
Victoria 44,563,804 169,144 556,533 3,020,749 18.599%
Western Australia 25,364,142 0 117,059 994,780 10.586%

Significant events¶

While the changes documented here generally reflect the addition of new articles and newspapers, the total numbers can also be affected by system configuration and optimisation events, such as rebuilding the index. It's difficult to highlight these sorts of anomalies in the charts above, but where I notice them I'll add a note here.

31 May 2022 – reindex?¶

Between the harvests on 29 May and 5 June 2022 there was a dramatic change in the distribution of articles by state (using the state facet). The number of articles from NSW decreased by 939,065, and the number of articles from Victoria increased by 961,387. There were also some smaller changes affecting other states. There was a scheduled maintenance window on 31 May, which makes me think that these reflect changes in the underlying search index, rather than the actual number of articles. Further evidence for this is the fact that the number of articles per state calculated by using the newspaper API endpoint were out-of-sync with the article totals until the end of May. Since then, both sets of article totals have remained in sync. So, in short, the number of articles returned by the state facet between 19 April 2022 (when my harvests started) and 31 May 2022 can't be trusted.


Created by Tim Sherratt for the GLAM Workbench. Support this project by becoming a GitHub sponsor.