Do you have microfilms of newspapers back to 1987 at the office? I think the library only goes to 1981.

[ Editor’s Note: Every so often I get “ the call” here at the paper.

Well, more recently, “ the call” has actually been “ the e- mail,” but it’s always some variation of the same thing…

“ Hey, this is Bob or Becky So-And- So, and I was wondering if you had a copy of the ( insert date here) edition of the Evening Times? My ( dad, grandma, first cousin twice removed, etc.) was in there for ( insert Big Thing here) and I was hoping to get a copy.” I’d say it happens at least twice a month. It used to happen more often. As recently as five years ago, I’d get “ the call” about once a week, but as the internet has become more of a thing, people can search online for such things. It’s just as well, too, since I more often than not disappoint them if they’re looking for anything earlier than the last few years. If it’s from 2008 to now, I can hook you up. If it’s from 2015 to now, I can actually just send you a link to the story online. If it’s before that, I’m afraid I can’t help you.

The old Evening Times building burned down in 2006, taking every back issue and archive we had with it. Once the new digital server was installed, a virtual copy of every paper we’ve done since is stored and preserved that way. There are no more paper archives of anything, but if it’s old enough ( 1981 or earlier) I can direct people to the West-Memphis Library, as there are back issues of the newspaper preserved there on microfilm.

I’ve heard that both the Memphis and Little Rock public libraries have the Times on microfilm as well, but I’ve never actually looked into that firsthand on the handful of occasions that I’ve been to the Memphis Library ( never been to the Little Rock one), so if anyone has looked into that, let me know if they have old copies of the Times at either location because that would be pretty cool]