Hundreds of subscribers both on Island and from around-the-world and are now using the new-improved website to read and search for news stories from the Isle of Man newspapers from 1792 to 1960, as well as publications chosen as useful for understanding the heritage of the Island.
Edmund Southworth, Director of Manx National Heritage said:
“Working closely with Government Technology Services, Olive Software and Gooii Design, Manx National Heritage has invested to update the technology and make even more enjoyable the experience of people finding the reading news stories from the Isle of Man’s distant and not too distant past. The website is now quicker at delivering content to users, has a new-look homepage and for the first time is usable on mobile, tablet or smart device as well as laptop or computer”.
Aside from being quicker, features on the new website include a simple timeline for clicking and browsing through year-by-year each of the forty-two newspaper and publication titles. An Article View window now enables you to enlarge the text onscreen, go to the page where the article appears and print, email or share what you find on Facebook or Twitter. A new My Collection feature has also been introduced, enabling users to store articles between online sessions.
Searching can be done on articles, pictures or advertisements using just a single word or phrase with the option to narrow a search by newspaper or publication and/or by date range. For the serious researcher there’s also the new search results analytics feature which creates a visual breakdown of where a search term appears across the years which a researcher can use to really delve into the news stories they want to discover.
Subscription options remain the same at £7 for 24 hours, £10 for 7 days, £30 for 30 days and £100 for 365 days. For a year’s subscription that works out at around 3p a day with unlimited search and download from wherever you are. Alternatively, the website is free to use at Manx National Heritage Library & Archives Reading Room at the Manx Museum, open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am – 5pm. Free access is also available in a number of public libraries across the Isle of Man.
iMuseum user, Ray Kelly, author of Manx Tholtans (vol 1) says:
“Whilst producing my book I found the iMuseum website invaluable. For research into anything Manx the overall website and especially iMuseum Newspapers & Publications is invaluable and with subscription its available 24/7 all from the comfort of your own armchair. The new website means pages load virtually instantly along with a huge range of searches you can enter. In short I cannot recommend it highly enough, so log on and immerse yourself in the past that was once forgotten, but can now be relived once again”.
