Underscoring the importance of newspapers as information sources on social and economic history, this report puts forth a statewide plan to catalog and preserve the newspaper files of New York State. The plan proposes the compilation of a statewide bibliography in two states: a preliminary survey to isolate and preserve files in greatest immediate danger of destruction or loss, and a detailed bibliographic survey combining direct on-site examination of files with systematic searching of available bibliographic resources in order to compile a complete bibliographic record for all titles published in the state. Preservation would be accomplished through a comprehensive microfilming program. The report concludes by delineating the respective roles of federal, state, and local agencies, and lists recommendations for action. Appendices provide a list of state reference and research library systems, a sample holdings report form, sample data collection sheets, sample reference cards, and cataloging worksheets. (FM)