ATLANTA—Digital versions of The Georgia Bulletin are now available for anyone to search online. 

A project of the Office of Archives and Records of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, full text issues of the local Catholic newspaper from 1963-1980 are available through the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG). 

This is the front page of the first Georgia Bulletin, published on Jan. 4, 1963. The 1963 issues were scanned for the newspaper’s 50th anniversary in 2013. Historical issues of the local Catholic newspaper are now available online.

Over several years, the Office of Archives and Records sent batches of historical print issues of The Georgia Bulletin for preservation scanning. This protects fragile newspapers from further damage. 

Due to the size of previous issues, pages were sent to a scanning vendor, which became costly. In 2019, Archives and Records participated in #iGiveCatholic for the first time to help raise funds for the project. 

Now, researchers can easily access local Catholic history in north Georgia. 

“It also expands that access to the rest of the United States and beyond through the DLG’s connection with the Digital Public Library of America,” said Angelique Richardson, director of Archives and Records for the Atlanta Archdiocese. “By making these digitized issues of our diocesan newspaper available to the public through the Georgia Historic Newspapers Project, we greatly hope that these words inspire researchers to learn more about the history of Catholics in North Georgia.” 

In the first issue of The Georgia Bulletin, Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, the first archbishop for the Atlanta Archdiocese wrote, “The religious press is not intended to be a ‘house organ’ or a ‘trade sheet.’ Its whole reason for being is that it might enter the community bearing light and courage—light enough to expose society’s ills as well as its strengths; courage enough to inspire justice and charity in those who might falter along the path.”

To do a full-text search of previous Georgia Bulletin issues, visit the DLG’s Georgia Historic Newspapers Project at gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu. To search the publication, click on the search tab and include your criteria before limiting your search to The Georgia Bulletin in the newspaper drop down list. 

For a more comprehensive search, please include Bulletin and The Bulletin, which were names of predecessor publications digitized and uploaded by the Diocese of Savannah. Bulletin covers 1920-1957 and The Bulletin covers 1957-1962. They are all available under the category of religious newspapers as well.

A link is also available by visiting georgiabulletin.org and clicking on Historical Issues Project under the Archives heading.

The DLG is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums and other educational and cultural institutions to provide access to key information on Georgia history, culture and life. DLG serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.