patchBay

Chronicling America vs The Old Reader

If you need a News API that's easy to integrate, go with The Old Reader.

Chronicling America

Provides access to millions of pages of historic US newspapers from the Library of Congress

Chronicling America

  • No authentication required
  • No HTTPS support
  • Currently flagged as inactive

The Old Reader

  • Simple API key authentication
  • HTTPS supported
FeatureChronicling AmericaThe Old Reader
AuthenticationNoneapiKey
HTTPSNoYes
CORSUnknownUnknown

When to use which?

Chronicling America is the better choice for quick prototypes and hackathons since it requires no authentication. The Old Reader supports HTTPS, which is required for production deployments and secure data handling.