The entire archive of the Guardian and Observer newspapers will become searchable via Google News Archive Search following a year-long project to digitise 212 years of stories.
The archive, which is due to launch on 3 November, will be freely searchable online, but its content will only be accessible to subscribers paying £7.95 for 24 hours’ access, £14.95 for three days’ access, or £49.95 per month.
Guardian News and Media’s business project manager for the archive, Torsten de Riese, said Google is currently indexing the archive.
The first phase of the online archive will comprise every article from The Guardian from 1821 to 1975 and The Observer from 1900 to 1975.
Observer stories published from 1791 to 1900 and after 1975, and Guardian stories from after 1975 are still being processed and will be added as soon as they are ready.
The service will be free until the end of November with a token from The Guardian or Observer newspaper. Access in the first month will be half price for other users.
Libraries and academic institutions will be able to access the service through cuttings database ProQuest CSA.
The Guardian’s launch of a paid-for archive comes after the New York Times opted for the opposite strategy and made large parts of archive, dating back to 1851, free online.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
