Hartford Courant columnist and blogger Colin McEnroe recently posted a list of things he'd do if he owned a newspaper. It's bracing, provocative, and absolutely correct. But anyone interested in the history of Hartford will really love No. 3 on the list:
"Do more with your archives. This a problem, specifically, for the Courant, which doesn't have much archived material online. Having a gigantic database of high quality vetted information which is not searchable by users is like Disneyworld not letting anypeople on the rides. It's nuts. One of the reasons people use an online service is searchability. The Courant has a million reasons why this can't be addressed. I have a simple answer: fix it or die."
In the meantime, there is a site where you can get Hartford Courant articles published between 1764 and 1922. It's the wonderful iCONN.org, brought to you by the Connecticut State Library, your local library, and the state Department of Higher Education.
