National Newspaper Week 2026 Part 1: Local and Community Newspapers in print

In celebration of the 86th annual National Newspaper Week the Magazines & Newspaper Department is putting up a couple blog posts to highlight all the excellent journalism you can read - both in print and online - courtesy of the Oakland Public Library. This first post will highlight all the local papers we have available in print in the Magazines & Newspapers Room on the 2nd floor of the Main Library. 

Perhaps you are already aware that the Magazines & Newspapers Room (a.k.a. M&N) carries national and international titles like Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle, and East Bay Times. But, did you know that we also carry nearly a dozen local and community newspapers from the Bay Area? It's true! Come visit us anytime that the Main Library is open to take a look, grab a paper and a comfy chair in M&N, and catch up on local news. Check below for a glimpse at what is available. 

The Oakland Post

The Oakland Post is the largest Black weekly newspaper in Northern California. It has been in continuous publication since its founding in 1963 by Thomas L. Berkley, a towering figure in Oakland history. Following Berkley's death in 2001, the Post was sold to Paul Cobb, a civil rights activist and reporter who had worked for the paper since the 1960s. Cobb continues to publish the Post from offices on 14th St., just down the street from the Main Library.

You can read this week's issue in M&N as well as back issues and microfilm that go back to 1968. Additionally, you can travel down 14th St. to the Oakland Public Library's African-American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) to view the Oakland Post Photograph Collection. Recent digital issues are also available from the Post website here.  

The Bay Area Reporter

The Bay Area Reporter has been, as its nameplate states, "serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971." It is the longest continuously published LGBTQ+ newspaper in the country. Originally distributed throughout the City's gay bars and clubs, it soon expanded across the Bay Area. The paper was a crucial source of information throughout the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s as the mainstream media's bias and prejudices resulted in unreliable, even dangerous, reporting on the issue. This year, the B.A.R. celebrated its 55th anniversary.

You can read the latest issue plus recent back issues here in M&N. You can also read digital copies of recent issues at the Bay Area Reporter's site here. Finally, thanks to the GLBT Historical Society, you can read a digital archive spanning 1971-2005 at the California Digital Newspaper Collection.   

The Inter-City Express

The Inter-City Express is Alameda County's daily legal newspaper. It has been printing in the East Bay since 1909. While the term "daily legal newspaper" might induce yawning in some patrons, the Inter-City Express has been a trusted source for legal news in the East Bay for 100+ years so clearly there's a community need. It is also true that, whether we like it or not, some of the most consequential news in Alameda County happens in its courts, and the Express often has the scoop first. The paper also remains as one of the last places to post legal public notices and fictitious business names, an important service for local residents.

You can read the latest issues in M&N and we also have microfilm for the years 1976-1981, and 2005.

The San Francisco Business Times

Though it might seem like we are trying, once again, to put our patrons to sleep with a paper entitled The San Francisco Business Times, we promise you we are not. In a capitalist society, it is often the business papers that have the juiciest scoop first. The San Francisco Business Times has been a source of quality local investigative reporting into the corporate sector for nearly 50 years, and it has broken many Silicon Valley stories and scandals in that time. We receive it weekly here in M&N and keep recent back issues behind the desk. We also have some 1980s and 1990s issues on microfilm and you can access the years 1987-2001 via the Gale Business Insights database.

If you have any questions about these or other local newspapers please reach out to your friendly OPL Magazines & Newspapers Department. Contact info can be found here or visit us in person the 2nd Floor of the Main Library, and stay tuned for Part 2: Digital Newspapers.