The Santa Barbara News-Press archives have a new home.
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum got court approval this week to purchase the physical archives of the bankrupt newspaper for $70,000.
“We’re just really excited about saving the materials so we can incorporate them into the library,” museum director Dacia Harwood said this week.
The museum’s Gledhill Library already has a lot of News-Press archival material, including decades of bound copies that were likely donated by the newspaper itself.
“The great news is obviously we’ll be able to rescue the photo collection, mostly 1940s onward from what we can tell, and microfiche, and all of the research materials,” Harwood said.
The newspaper’s library includes clippings of news articles labeled by topic.
“A lot of it is really lovely and organized from years of people who worked in this space, in the library here,” Harwood said.
Recent materials are less organized, including unbound copies of newspapers.
Museum staff visited the News-Press building at 715 Anacapa St. this week to make plans for packing up the materials. They will probably take about 1,000 boxes worth, Harwood said.
That includes the former newspaper’s “photo morgue,” microfiche collection, clippings, bound copies, and unbound copies. They’ll also take books and items such as city directories.
“We won’t be leaving any historical materials behind,” Harwood said.
She already found files of Old Spanish Days photos labeled by year, which the museum will use for its Project Fiesta exhibit.
“Things like that are a treasure to us.”
They’ve also seen bound editions from the 1860s and 1870s, which are older than the museum has in its collection, Harwood said. However, it’s unclear what condition they’re in.
“We’re really grateful they didn’t leave the community,” she said.
Community members have worried about the fate of the archives since newspaper owner Wendy McCaw filed for bankruptcy in July 2023.
The bankruptcy court auctioned off the News-Press website, social media accounts, and trademark in April, and a local group outbid an international competitor.
The newly created NP 2024 group, represented by Ben Romo at the hearing, bid $285,000 for the digital assets.
That was higher than other bidders – Clancy Woods and Malta-based Weyaweya Ltd. – were willing to go.
The Historical Museum had early support from its board and donors to make a bid for the physical archives, and that plan came to fruition with the court’s approval this week.
“We have donors who are really excited about this project and thankfully pledged to support it,” Harwood said.
The museum, at 136 E. De la Guerra St., secured temporary storage to go through the materials, and will prioritize putting the photos into its own research library. Those are the most used by historians and other researchers, Harwood said.
Multiple QwikReponse vehicles were parked outside the former newspaper building on Wednesday. There have been reports of water damage, mold and other issues. The building has been vacant since April 2023, when staff moved to a Goleta facility.