The Customer Service staff of The USA TODAY online archive wants to help make your searching as trouble-free as possible. To ensure your continued satisfaction with The USA TODAY online archive, we offer the following answers to some of the most commonly asked questions:

• What is available in the archive?
  
  
• What is not contained in the archive?
  
  
• Where is the photo/illustration/chart?
  
  
• How do I find all articles associated with a given section?
  
  
• How do I purchase articles online?
  
  
• What forms of payment are accepted for purchasing articles?
  
  
• What is your refund policy?
  
  
• What is ProQuest Archiver (PQA)?
  
  
• How do I order back issues of USA TODAY?
  
  
• How do I get reprints of an article that appeared in USA TODAY?
  
  
• How do I get reprints of a photo that appeared in USA TODAY?
  
  
• How do I get better search results?
  
  
• What part of the article is actually searched for my search term?
  
  
• How do I browse articles that appeared on one specific day?
  
  
• What if I can't find my article?
  
  
• How do I find an obituary?
  
  
• I'm having trouble finding an article. Do you have search assistance?
  
  
• What formats are available for viewing an article?
  
  
• How do I get a print subscription to USA TODAY?
  
  
• How do I request permission to reprint an article that appeared in the USA TODAY?
  
  
• What if I have a question that cannot be answered by the Frequently Asked Questions?
  
  

USA TODAY archive includes locally written articles from 4/1/1987 through the present.

The USA TODAY archive does not include advertising.

The archive does not include:

• Advertising
• Legal Notices
• Classifieds
• Sports Statistics
• Photographs or Graphics (such as USA Snapshots)
• Weather Pages

Only text is included in the current archives 1987 - present. Photos, charts, illustrations and other graphics are not included. Please see What is not contained in the archives? for more information.

Select a Section in the dropdown box and enter a date range. Leave the Search box blank and click the Search button. The results will include all articles that appeared in that Section for the given date range.

Advice for new users: After you do a search, a screen will come up with the results of that search. You may view a summary of the document for free. Once you determine which document you would like to view, click on the icon with the '$'. If you are a new user, you will be taken to a pricing page, where you can choose the plan to purchase. After deciding which plan best fits your needs, you will be taken through the purchase experience. After confirming your purchase, the full text of the document will be displayed.

You may choose to print the document or save it for your personal review later on. Since you have access to this document for 90 days, you may complete the same search and retrieve the document again during this time period.

Accepted forms of payment for purchasing articles:

(Billed by ProQuest Archiver)

Customers may submit an online refund request within two hours of purchase. ProQuest will refund the full purchase price provided the customer provides an explanation of why he/she is dissatisfied with the quality of the content delivered. If more than two hours has passed, customers may contact ProQuest Customer Service by email to request a refund at mypqabilling@pqarchiver.com.

Refunds for passes will be pro-rated based upon duration since purchase and usage.

No refunds can be given more than 60 days following the original purchase date.

ProQuest Archiver is an e-commerce platform for publishers to distribute their content on the Web. Visit myPQA to learn more.

You may request a back issue by calling 1-800-872-0001. You also may write a note containing your name, address, daytime phone number, day and date of the issue, and a check or money order for the appropriate amount to:

USA TODAY Back Issues Department P.O. Box 4179, Silver Spring, MD 20914.

Back issues are $2.00 per copy and subject to availability.

Pricing Scheme for FIRST CLASS MAIL
Quantity:	Back Issue Cost:	Total cost:
1	$2.00	$3.95
2	$4.00	$7.95
3	$6.00	$9.95
4	$8.00	$11.95
5	$10.00	$13.95
6	$12.00	$17.81
7	$14.00	$19.81
8	$16.00	$22.12
9	$18.00	$24.12
10	$20.00	$26.43
Pricing Scheme for FedEx Economy Second Day
Quantity:	Back Issue Cost:	Total cost:
1	$2.00	$15.00
2	$4.00	$17.00
3	$6.00	$20.00
4	$8.00	$22.00
5	$10.00	$25.00
6	$12.00	$27.00
7	$14.00	$30.00
8	$16.00	$32.00
9	$18.00	$35.00
10	$20.00	$37.00
FedEx Priority Standard and Overnight delivery also available. For pricing on larger quantities please call 1-800-USA-0001.

You may request reprints of articles by calling the USA TODAY Library at 703-854-5864.

Currently, we do not offer this service.

Be specific with your search terms. If your search is unsuccessful, refine your search terms. To narrow your search, use the advanced search page to fill in date range, author, headline, or subject fields. The more information you provide, the more precise your search results will be. To get more results, select different search words or a longer date range.

Using AND narrows the search, using OR broadens the search, and using NOT excludes unwanted items. The NOT operator is useful in refining an initial query that returns a broad list of results. WITHIN and ADJ controls how close your search terms must be to one another. ADJ also checks that words found are in the same order as in your search expression. For more detail, visit Search Tips.

The basic search includes the full text of the entire article, as well as text from the headline, author field, date range, subject terms, etc. For more detail on getting good search results, visit Search Tips.

On the advanced search page, use the date range option to select the specific date, insert a "*" into the "Search for" field, and click the search button.

Please review the Search Tips for helpful information, as well as How do I get better search results?. Unfortunately, ProQuest Archiver is unable to provide research assistance for the archives. However, more information is available here.

For the current full text archives:
To search for an obituary use the Advanced Search; next, in the Headline prompt box list the person's name this way:
  first name pre/3 last name
    Example: john pre/3 doe.
(Using the proximity of pre/3 tells the system to find the first name 3 words before the last name; this takes into account the use of a middle initial or a nickname.)

ResearchLine is a fee-based research service of the USA TODAY newspaper library and is available Monday through Friday, except holidays. Call 703-854-5864 or email researchline@usatoday.com.

Copies of articles written by USA TODAY, Gannett News Service, USA Weekend and Sports Weekly (formerly Baseball Weekly) staff are available since 1987. Fees start at $10. Orders are done by prepayment, such as major credit card.

Lengthy, complicated searches through the USA TODAY archive (such as sports statistics and items from years 1982-1987) cost $60 per hour. A minimum of 30 minutes can be ordered, and you can impose a maximum time.

We also can make reprints of certain USA TODAY newspaper pages. PDF prints are on 11x17" size paper and in color IF the original page was in color. PDF reprints cost $15 each and are for personal use only. Matchprints are full-size, glossy reprints of the entire newspaper page and cost $50 each. Reprints of all section fronts since September 22, 2003 and some select historical fronts are available online at http://usatoday.publishedphotos.com/CategoryImages.aspx?GrpID=34 and are offered at $19.95 unframed or $69.95 framed for 11x17".

• For back issues of USA TODAY - and you know the issue date -- call USA TODAY National Customer Service at 1-800-872-0001. Or, click here for an electronic back issue.
  
  
• To purchase photos, call 703-854-5619. This recording will provide full details for obtaining photos that have run in USA TODAY. Some of our most popular photos are located online at http://art.usatoday.com so check there first.
  
  
• Requests for copyright/reprint permission should be faxed to 703-854-2112; or mailed to USA TODAY Reprints and Permissions; 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean VA 22108. Write a brief letter explaining which article you would like to reuse, how you intend to reuse it, the date it appeared in the newspaper, as well as contact information for yourself.
  
  
• For businesses interested in ordering at least 200 copies of one article, contact the Quality Reprints department at (703) 854-2425.
  
  
• For information about ads that have appeared in our publications, call USA TODAY advertising at 1-800-242-5858.

You can choose the format you would like to view by clicking the icon next to the article title. Please note: Only some document formats may be available. The following formats may be available:

Preview - The free Preview provides bibliographic information about the article, such as author and publication date, and a brief summary. This format contains no photos.

Full Text - The Full Text version includes the citation and abstract, along with the complete text of the article. This format contains no photos.

To subscribe to USA TODAY, the newspaper, click here. If you are overseas, you can subscribe to the Asia/Pacific or Europe editions.

To request reprint permission, please contact:
   Lisa Washington
   lwashington@usatoday.com
Please provide the following information:

• The story you want to reproduce.
• The date it was published.
• The headline.
• The author's name.
• How you intend to use it, such as posting an article on your website or redistributing articles by email or other methods.

If you still have questions after checking the frequently asked questions, please contact Customer Service. Please keep in mind that assistance is available only for technical and account-related issues. Research assistance is not provided.