Frequently Asked Questions

A users guide and knowledge base

Use the list below to find a specific question or simply scroll down the page to review all areas.

What is Archive Online
I can't find what I am looking for
Getting an article's complete text
How do I set up an account
How much does it cost
Username and Password Not Working
Getting a Hard Copy or Reprints
My search returned no articles
Corresponding photography, graphics, or charts
The article I paid for was no longer than the search results preview
I have a question which is not listed and need further help
Important information concerning Y2K notices

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Now you can search the archives of The Birmingham News from 1993 to present online. Archives Online is a service of The Birmingham News and is great for business and school research. Find out what's been written about a company. Research recently passed legislation. Can't find that news event in the encyclopedia? Use The Birmingham News Archives Online for all of your research needs.

Archives Online will let you find old newspaper articles by finding the words or phrases that appear in those articles. You will be presented with a list of dates and headlines, along with the first few lines of each article. Select the article that you are looking for and click on the link to view the full text. We're sorry, but photographs, graphics, cartoons and syndicated columns are not available. You won't be charged anything until you view the entire article.

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Archives Online contains most, but not all, of the articles published The Birmingham News from 1993 to present. Archives Online is a self-service system. To learn how to better use it, please see the Search Tips page. We are sorry but the Customer Service staff cannot help you locate articles. If you need to find an article which you believe was published but is not in the Archives Online database, The Birmingham News can provide additional search services at an hourly rate.

Articles such as wedding announcements, syndicated columnists, and wire services are not available. The Birmingham News does not archive stock quotes, charts and graphs, sports scores, ads, TV listings, 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.

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Just click on the "Complete text of article" link beneath the listing of the article you want. You'll then be able to get full text of the article by using your Passport or a credit card. We're sorry, but photos, charts, and graphics are not included.

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It only takes a few minutes to set up an account and you can use it right away. You must have a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. 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.

Monthly flat rate accounts providing full-time access to The Birmingham News Archives Online are available for businesses, libraries, educational institutions and professional researchers. Please contact us at bhamnews@newsbank.com for more information.

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Searching The Birmingham News Archives Online is free. The cost for viewing the complete text of an article is $2.95. 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 reasonable amount of time.

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Please send an e-mail to bhamnews@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. We will respond to your problem within one business day.

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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 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.

All articles purchased from The Birmingham News Archives Online are for personal use and all copyright laws apply. If you want to republish an article in print or electronically, you must get permission from The Birmingham News. See copyright permissions for details.

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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 Tips page and try your search again.

There is also a chance that your search is being performed on a database that is undergoing maintenance. As new articles are being added, the database is occasionally taken off line for short periods of time. Although this usually occurs briefly during off hours, there is a chance that you may be told that a database is unavailable or could not be opened. If you wait a few minutes, the database will be available again and your search will go through.

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No. The Birmingham News Archives Online contains 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.

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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.