Not wanting to divert or hijack the thread , but I think this also may be of intrest
The British Museum have linked up with an online sevice to upload its collections of local and national newspapers dating back to the mid 1700s , unfortunatly this isnt free a years subscription is not cheap about £80 , more limited packages are avaliable
http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ This link gives the details