Frequently Asked Questions
about Institutional Subscriptions

  1. How is "institution" defined for an institutional subscription?
  2. What content is available online for institutional subscribers?
  3. If an institution stops subscribing to the online version, will it still retain access to the full text for the year(s) in which it subscribed?
  4. Why can't I get access to an online version of an ASM journal to which my library subscribes in print?
  5. How does institutional access work?
  6. How can I tell whether my institution has subscribed to an ASM Journal Online?
  7. Are institutional subcription usage reports available?
  8. How do I order single issues?
  9. What do I do if I forget my institutional subscriber number?
  1. How is "institution" defined for an institutional subscription?

    See the 2009 institutional site license agreement for the complete definition of an Authorized Site and an Authorized User. An Authorized Site is a localized site that is an organizational unit and may be academic or nonacademic. For organizations located in more than one city, each city is considered to be a different site. No access from remote campuses or remote sites and no consortia or other forms of subscription sharing are allowed under this License.

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  1. What content is available online for institutional subscribers?

    A library/institutional subscription provides access to accepted manuscripts published ahead of final publication and to both the HTML and PDF versions of full-text content on the ASM site. Full-text content is available online from date of origin up through the current issue. Also full-text PDF versions of all articles in all ASM journals back to date of origin are available at PubMed Central, a public national archive of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health http://www.pubmedcentral.gov. Citations and abstracts are available in several metadata sites, such as PubMed, with links to full articles on the ASM site.

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  2. If an institution stops subscribing to the online version, will it still retain access to the full text for the year(s) in which it subscribed?

    Access to the complete full-text collection, including all back volumes, is permitted for current subscribers only. However, free access is granted to full-text content that is more than six [6] months old for the primary-research journals and one [1] year old for the review journals.

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  3. Why can't I get access to an online version of an ASM journal to which my library subscribes in print?

    Your institution must pay for, and activate, an online subscription to have access to the full text online. See Ordering Procedures for Institutions for details.

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  4. How does institutional access work?

    When someone attempts to use an ASM Journal Online, our server checks to determine whether the requesting computer is on the list of Internet IP addresses provided by the subscribing institution. If it is, the reader will be able to use all those services enabled for institutional readers. For institutional subscribers, there are no usernames or passwords to remember and there is currently no limit on the number of readers from the institution who may access ASM Journals Online simultaneously.

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  5. How can I tell whether my institution has subscribed to an ASM Journal Online?

    If your institution has a subscription, you'll automatically have access to the full-text articles in the journal(s) to which your institution subscribes without having to sign in. You'll also see an indication at the top of an article abstract or full-text page confirming you're already signed in as part of an institution [e.g., "Institution: (your institution's name)"]. If your institution has not subscribed, please contact your librarian.

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  6. Are institutional subcription usage reports available?

    Yes, the account administrator can view usage reports of ASM online journals by entering his/her account administrator username and password. See http://www.journals.asm.org/subscriptions/instusage.dtl to access the reports.

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  7. How do I order single issues?

    Single issues of ASM journals are available: $50, members; $100, nonmembers; Canadians add applicable taxes. For Microbe, single-copy cost: $5 for members and nonmembers. Payment must accompany orders and should be mailed to the Finance Department, ASM, 1752 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036-2904, USA.

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  8. What do I do if I forget my online institutional subscriber number?

    Your institutional online subscriber number appears on the upper left section of the subscription activation letter that you received when ordering the online subscription. If you no longer have that information, you may obtain it from the ASM Subscription Office.

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    9. Still have questions?

    For further information, please contact the ASM Institutional Subscription Office:

    American Society for Microbiology
    P.O. Box 11127
    Birmingham, AL 35202-1127

    Phone: USA and Canada, 1 (800) 633-4931

    Fax: (205) 995-1588
    E-mail: asmjournals{at}subscriptionoffice.com

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