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

 
What is available in the archive?

The Archives include text of newspaper articles from the Providence Journal dating as far back to 1/1/1983. Articles written by the Providence Journal staff and other selected articles are usually available within 72 hours after publication.
The Archives include:
  • News
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Editorials
  • Education/Careers
  • Automotive Articles
  • Obituaries
  • Legal Notices
  • Wedding Announcements
  • Birth Announcements (only available from 1983 to 2003)


 
What is not contained in the archive?

The Archives do not include advertising, classifieds, sports agate, photographs, or graphics. Articles prior to 1/1/1983 are not yet available online. Articles from freelance writers, The Associated Press, and other wire services are not included in the Archives.
The Archives do not include:
  • Wire Service Stories/Stories written by writers other than the Providence Journal Staff
  • Advertising
  • Classifieds
  • Sports Statistics
  • Weather Pages
  • Photographs or Graphics
  • Real Estate transactions or listing
  • As of November 2003, engagements, anniversaries and birth announcements are not available on the Archives. These announcements are part of the Journal's paid classified announcements called Celebrations and are located online here: http://www.projo.com/celebrations/


 
Where is the photo/illustration/chart?
Only text is included in the current archives 1983 - present. Photos, charts, illustrations and other graphics are not included. Please see What is not contained in the archives? for more information.



 
How do I purchase articles online?
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.


 
What forms of payment are accepted for purchasing articles?

Accepted forms of payment for purchasing articles:

VISA Master Card American Express Discover/Novus
(Billed by ProQuest Archiver)



 
What is your refund policy?
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.



 
What is ProQuest Archiver (PQA)?

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


 
Why do I have to pay to read articles online?

The Providence Journal offers articles back to 1/1/1983 (text only) online as part of our website: http://www.projo.com/. You can search for free on any topic, author, or date, but there is a small fee charged to access the full article and print it out. The main purpose of the Archive is to provide an additional service to our customers. In addition, the small fees charged help offset the cost of maintaining the Archive. We hope you will find this service of value and feel free to contact us with your comments.



 
Why do you want my complete address?

To safeguard against fraudulent charges on a credit card, we ask for complete billing information to verify that the credit card number and the contact information match what the credit card companies have on record.



 
What about privacy issues?

Please visit our Terms & conditions page.



 
How do I order back issues of The Providence Journal?

Back issues of the Providence Journal are available for purchase from the past 60 days.

To order, please call:
   Back Issues Department
   401-277-7010
NOTE:  All back issues are subject to availability. Phone orders only.



 
How do I get reprints of a photo that appeared in The Providence Journal?

Photos are available for purchase from July 1997 to Present. For purchase information, contact the Providence Journal Photo Department:
   Marueen Aldrich
   Email:  maldrich@projo.com
   401-277-7007
NOTE:  All photo reprints are subject to availability.


 
How do I get better search results?

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.



 
What part of the article is actually searched for my search term?

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.


 
How do I browse articles that appeared on one specific day?

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.


 
What if I can't find my article?
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.


 
How do I find an obituary?
  • Go to http://www.projo.com/obituaries. There you will see a list of obituaries from today's Providence Journal. You can also search for any obituary that has appeared in the paper over the last 30 days.
  • For obituaries that appeared in the newspaper from 1983 to approximately 72 hours after publication
      1. Go to http://archives.projo.com and select "Advanced Search" from the top nav bar. Type in obituaries and the last name of the deceased as your search text.
        Example: obituaries and doe
      2. Or, do a name search by entering the first name followed by w/2 followed the last name. This will retrieve articles with the first and last name listed within two words of each other by allowing the search engine to pick up a middle initial or middle name. For example, to find the obituary for John Patrick Doe, search for: john w/2 doe You may also enter "obituaries" in the headline field to narrow your search.
      3. Narrow your search further by selecting a date range from the Date Options field.
      4. The results will list the obituary documents for the dates you entered. Obituaries published after 1998 are published in one large document, so there are several obituaries in a single document and the person's name may not be the one listed in the abstract. You may have to scroll down until you find the person's obituary, or you can use the FIND IN PAGE function on your web browser.


 
I'm having trouble finding an article. Do you have search assistance?
For search assistance, you may contact The Providence Journal at helpcenter@projo.com.


 
How do I get a print subscription to The Providence Journal?
Subscribe to the Providence Journal.


 
How do I request permission to reprint an article that appeared in the The Providence Journal?

To request reprint permission, please call:
   Patricia Welker
   Email:  pwelker@projo.com
   Managing Editor of Administration
   401-277-7326
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.


 
How do I find articles published prior to 1983?
The Providence Public Library does maintain past issues of the Providence Journal on microfiche back to its first editions in the 1800's. These are available for the public to view. Call (401) 455-8005 for information on reference services.


 
Do you offer any other services that would interest your customers?

We offer the following services:

To find out more, go to http://www.projo.com



 
Can I use a debit card instead of a credit card to purchase articles?

A debit card looks like a credit card, but works more like a check. Using a credit card is like taking out a loan. Credit card companies allow you to dispute a charge that is unfamiliar while they or you check out the charge. With a debit card your money is deducted directly from your bank account. Consumer protections for debit cards are not the same as for credit cards, which is why we request a credit card online for the safety of our customers. Although we do not deny debit card authorizations because their use is common, we recommend using a credit card for any online purchase. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) protects you if you believe an accounting error has occurred or if a thief uses your card. Contact your financial institution.


 
What if I have a question that cannot be answered by the Frequently Asked Questions?
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.


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