Newsbank: Frequently Asked Questions

We offer a few ways to search. To begin, try entering some keywords and using the "Search" button in the form. You may also click "Advanced Search" for more options

I am looking for a particular article or topic and I am having trouble finding anything. Can you give me any advice?

The archives contain most, but not all, of the articles published by your newspaper, and cover only the more recent years of publication. These archives are a self-service system. Currently, our staff does not provide a service to help locate articles. If you need to find an article which you believe was published but is not in the database, your newspaper may provide additional search service at an hourly rate. Please contact your newspaper's library for details.

Please note that each newspaper may choose to store different content in their archives. Some articles such as obituaries, wedding announcements, syndicated columnists, and wire services may not be available for a particular newspaper. Some newspapers will not archive stock quotes, sports scores, death notices or classified ads.

If you are having trouble finding just the right search terms to use, or if you are trying to narrow your search to find just the right set of articles, try using our advanced search features.

I am looking for personal name.

To search for an exact phrase, enter it in quotes:
"campaign finance reform"
"Bill Clinton"
This can help you match concepts and personal names exactly.

How do I get the complete text of the article I want?

Just click on the headline link above the listing of the article you want. You'll then be able to get full text of the article by using your credit card. Please note that photos, charts, and graphics are not included.

How do I set up an account? What are my options?

It only takes a few minutes to set up an account, and you can use it right away. You may use a Visa, or Mastercard. Your credit card will be charged only for the articles for which you view the full text. There are no set-up charges or minimum fees. Because the information you give us is communicated through a secure connection, you must use a compatible browser such as Netscape 3.0 or higher, or MS Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher. You'll also have to enable cookies and javascript.

How much does it cost and when will I be billed?

Searching the archives is free, but you must pay to view the full text of the articles. Pricing for articles will range from $2.95 per document to as low as $2.00 per document, depending on what type of package you purchase.

The charge for viewing an article will not occur until the article has been completely delivered from our server. If you do not receive the complete text of the article you want, you can click on it again. You will only be charged once for an article even if you happen to view it more than once, provided the viewings occur within a 24 hour period. For more details, view the options under the pricing link.

I tried to view a complete article and my username and password won't work. What should I do?

Make sure that you are using the username that you chose when you registered for your account . You should have chosen your own password when you registered, and verified it by typing it twice. Don't confuse your password with the password hint that you entered; this is not used for viewing articles. When entering your password, make sure your "Caps Lock" key is not on. Usernames and passwords are "case sensitive". Also, make sure you distinguish between numeric zeros and the upper case 'O'.

If you are still refused access and have checked the above, please send e-mail to newslibrary@newsbank.com. Include your full name, username, browser type, browser version and a brief description of the problem. Your account information is kept confidential and re-registering will not affect your credit.

I would like to get a hard copy of an article that I purchased. How can I do that? What about reprints?

Using Netscape browsers, you can use the "Print" or "Print Frame" option on the "File" menu to print a hard copy of the newspaper article that you have purchased. You also have the option to save the article as a file on your desktop using the "Save" or "Save As" option on the "File" menu. This will save the document as an HTML file that can be opened into your browser and printed later. If you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, you can print by right clicking in the frame containing the article and choosing "Print". You can also use cut and paste to transfer the document into another application like Word or Notepad. Remember that copyright laws prohibit using the article in electronic or hard copy forms, except for personal use.

My search results returned no articles or an error message that I did not understand.

SEARCH SESSION EXPIRED The "search session expired" message is actually a technical problem usually caused by an overload of history and temporary internet files stored within your browser. You should clear both of those items from your browser and then exit the browser and try again.

To clear history in Netscape click on the + beside advance and then click on cache, Clear Memory Cache And Clear Disk Cache.

In Internet Explorer go to tools and click on Internet Options. Click General Tab, then click on Clear temporary Internet Files and Clear History. Shut down your browser and then restart.

If this step does not result in giving you access either Your User Search Session Has Expired due to an Extended Period of Inactivity or Your Browser Is Not Set to Accept Cookies.

Start a New Search Session if you have not clicked any buttons for a while.
If Your Browser Is Not Accepting Cookies, Change that setting by opening the screen for your browser's Properties or Preferences, find the section for the Cookie Settings (Look under Advanced) and just Select the Accept Cookies option there and Click to Apply that change. The server uses those cookies to keep track of which search results you want to see.

Your search may return zero articles for several reasons. If your search terms are too broad and would require the service to find too many related articles, you will be told that your search is too general. You will need to add more terms to your search and be sure to search for all of the terms or connect them with "and". Searching for any of your terms or using "or" to connect your terms in the advanced search will increase, not decrease, the number of articles found. If you are using advanced syntax, you may receive a syntax error if your search is constructed incorrectly. Refer to the search help page and try your search again.

An article that I purchased makes reference to a photograph or graphic, and even includes the caption for that photograph. Does your service provide the photographs as well as the text?

No. These archives contain only the text of the articles that appeared in the newspaper. Sometimes, this will also include the cutline, or caption, of the photographs that were published with the article. Contact the newspaper directly for reprints of published photographs, graphs, charts or copies of published pages. Use the information from the article to refer to the photograph you desire.

The article I paid for contained little more than what I read on the results page for free.

Some newspaper articles are longer than others, and some are even just short news items called briefs. You probably have seen these in the printed newspaper in the business or international sections. When choosing the articles you would like to purchase, make note of the word count listed with the article on the search results page. Since the results page will typically show you no more that the first 100 or so words of the article, the number of words in the entire article will be a good indication as to how much more information you will receive. Another hint is to look for the word "Briefs" in the listing of the article on the results page. This usually indicates a list of short news items.

Something went wrong, or I am unhappy with the article. Can I get a refund?

Refunds and credits are granted only in cases where you were not able to retrieve an article that you located. If you successfully retrieved an article, you are not entitled to a refund, even if that article did not contain the information you were looking for.
If you were unable to view the full article, please e-mail our customer service at newslibrary@newsbank.com.