The goal of the Arkansas Newspaper Project Records was to inventory all newspapers held by various repositories in the state of Arkansas. These newspapers included both the original newspapers and microfilm copies of the newspapers. The project was part of a larger initiative, the United States Newspaper Program, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funded state initiatives to inventory newspaper collections in their respective states.

Sponsored by the University of Arkansas Libraries in Fayetteville, the Arkansas Newspaper Project was originally conceived with John A. Harrison, director of the University of Arkansas Libraries, as Project Director, Patrick F. Callahan as Project Manager, and Cheryl Conway as Project Supervisor and Cataloger. Following a declined grant application in 1985, the National Humanities Council awarded the Arkansas Newspaper Project an initial grant in 1986. Additional grants would follow. The actual work of the Arkansas Newspaper Project began in December 1986. At that time project leadership positions were occupied by Michael Dabrishus, head of Special Collections,as project director; Shirley Brendel, head of Collection Development; and Patrick Callahan, head of Cataloging.

To create the inventory, the newspaper project staff created liaisons with other repositories in the state. Activities included corresponding with the Arkansas History Commission, university libraries and archives, city libraries, and other repositories. Also, project staff, including Tony Wappell and Deb Kulczak, engaged in field work throughout the state including on-site inventories of newspapers. The Arkansas Newspaper Project received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities until its conclusion in 1994.

The project's final product was the Arkansas Union List of Newspapers, an inventory of all of the newspapers then in Arkansas repositories, with newspaper titles dating as far back as the first half of the nineteenth century. Newspaper titles include Arkansas state and local newspapers, newspapers from other states, and newspapers from other nations.

The Union List is divided into two sections. The first lists newspapers by title. The second lists newspapers by place of publication. Information includes publisher, title changes, and extent of preserved newspapers. Also included is where newspapers, both original newspapers and microfilm copies, are currently located.