To Browse or not to Browse

"Global" searches generally are a great way to find information you are looking for in digitized databases, and in search engines such as Google or DuckDuckGo.
But I have found an easier-to-sift-through lists of search results when I elect to "browse" specific newspapers. Selecting that option will give you a screen like the one above. You can choose the country you are researching, with the default coming up as the United States. The next column allows you to select the state you are focusing on. In this case, I am choosing Indiana. That will open a list of all the cities in the state that have newspapers represented in the NA database. When I select "Madison," I then get a list of the newspapers that have digitized pages in the database. To find out when these papers were published and the dates of available digitized issues, I click on "Browse All Madison."
That opens a page showing, in alphabetical order, all of the newspapers available in the collection, along with what years are included, the number of digitized pages, and when that specific newspaper collection was updated. As you can see, the Daily Democrat was updated a few days ago, so I should check that out to see what's new.


















But the window also opens a search form, allowing you to add the name of a person you are researching, or a keyword, along with the option of "advanced" search, which allows you to narrow your search by adding specific dates. I usually choose this one, if I have an idea of when that person may have been in Madison, or when a specific event occurred.
Keep in mind that the text that shows up in each listing is AI generated, and at this point, AI is very spotty at correctly "reading" what's on the page.
Also, be aware that you can change the list filter so that you can look at the oldest pages to the newest, vice-versa, or "recently added," which would bring up those new Daily Democrat pages if they include references to the person or thing I am researching.


















This search revealed a real-estate transaction in Lancaster Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, in which Amos Cook, the subject of this search, sold a two-acrew portion of land to Mary J. Stout, and another parcel to O.H. Stout. This means if I want more information, I can go to the Recorder's Office at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Madison and find the deeds to the land, if I want more information.
Many of the items in your list of results will not really match what you are looking for; if Amos and Cook appear separately on a page, the AI will still count it among the results, even though the article likely has nothing to do with the person, Amos Cook.
As with any genealogical evidence, you must be diligent in analyzing the information to determine if there is any value to what you've found.