Elephind

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Elephind
Type of site
Search engine
DissolvedOctober 2023; 6 months ago (2023-10)
URLwww.elephind.com
LaunchedMay 30, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-05-30)
Current statusShut down

Elephind was a search engine for digitized versions of newspapers from various countries, with the goal of making it possible to search all digitized newspapers from a single website.[1] As of July 2021, 3,600,000 newspapers were accessible on the website, many of them not accessible through Google. The website was shut down mid-October 2023.

Function[edit]

Elephind was a search engine specifically for digitized versions of historical newspapers, allowing the user to freely search across various newspaper archive websites instead of visiting each individual site. When the user clicked on a search result, they were directed to the online archive where it could be accessed.[2] The collection was international, with newspapers from various countries included.[3]

As of July 2021, 3,600,000 newspapers were accessible on Elephind.[4] Many of the newspapers were on the deep web and could not be accessed through other search engines such as Google.[5]

Optional registration allowed users to bookmark and comment on newspapers.[6]

Elephind used software from Veridian Software, which was spun out of Greenstone.[7]

Termination[edit]

Between 8 October and 13 October 2023, the website was shut down. Since then, it only contains the following message:

The Elephind.com online newspaper search system has been taken offline. To view free and searchable online newspapers see the list of newspaper projects on the Veridian website.

— https://elephind.com (retrieved December 2023)

References[edit]

  1. ^ H. Thomas Jr., Kenneth (2013-12-08). "Digitized newspaper sources abound online". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. ZE4. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  2. ^ Sansone, Tina (2015-11-18). "D. Joshua Taylor Speaks To Sold Out Crowd At Tennessee Genealogical Seminar". Germantown News. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  3. ^ Biersdorfer, J. D. (2020-06-24). "How to Dig Up Family History Online". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  4. ^ Fuller, Bryan. "LibGuides: News and Newspaper Resources : Current and Historical: Home". library.morgan.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  5. ^ Price, Dan (2019-05-23). "The 12 Best Deep Search Engines to Explore the Invisible Web". MakeUseOf. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  6. ^ Moody, Sharon Tate (October 16, 2016). "Family Heritage Fest has something for everyone". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "An Interview with Stefan Boddie, CEO of Veridian Software/DL Consulting – the Ancestor Hunt".