The old stuff you're about to take a look at is not from any form of microfilm, microfiche, or any other kind of analog database (or digital, for that matter). It's all 100% authentic newsprint paper--the original goods.
I use a scanner to get what I find interesting onto the computer. This archival process is definately messier and takes a lot longer....but not as long as physically typing every single word of an article would take, so I do it this way. Newspaper pages from the 80's are a lot bigger than you remember them being; MUCH bigger than today's size. A typical wimpy 8½-X-11 scanner wouldn't be able to tackle the job. Mine is huge, and I don't know if they make them this big anymore.
I do know that most modern computers don't come equipped with the socket necessary to plug this scanner in! Once the older computer that runs with this thing passes on, I don't know what I'll do. I WANT a scanner this big, because I often scan big things and don't like stitching them together in pieces.
Even MY scanner, however, isn't
big enough to handle an old full-size newspaper page. I have to
scan them in half and stitch them together anyway, and if it's
not done perfectly (which is impossible), there is an obvious
blurry part where the two halves were stuck together. I know of
no way to avoid this right now.
Whenever you see "uncut" next to a scan link, it means
the entire page is included. This is intended to be a fair
warning--if you're going to look at an uncut newspaper scan and
your connection is slow, your patience had better outweigh your
curiosity.