If anyone is looking to go through the Evening Times microfilms at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, it is worth noting that not all editions have been photographed. I was in today doing some work for a client who had asked me to try to find the exact dates of 18 articles which appeared in a semi-regular series in 1938. I had the timeframe narrowed to between May and October, but was initially unable to find them. I eventually found a reader's letter after two hours digging, which in commenting on one of the articles in question referred to its exact date of publication. Yet even with that, it was still not found on the microfilm.
The reason was that the Saturday issues which were photographed were only the Final Editions, usually printed with the sports results and just a couple of other pages from the First Editions. When I guessed it might be the case, I was able to get the librarian to bring out the original bound volume to double check, and soon located some of the articles in the earlier editions which had indeed not been photographed.
The moral of the story is that even when a microfilm run of papers is available at an archive, it may not contain each and every edition of the paper you are using, so don't be afraid to ask to see the originals. Not all archives will allow this, but in my experience most will if you have a legitimate reason to request access.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
www.twitter.com/chrismpaton
Good tip, Chris, thanks.
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