Administer your FirstSearch account

Individual accounts

Your library may have one or more FirstSearch individual accounts not shared with other libraries. For each individual account, you receive a unique FirstSearch authorization number. You place the orders for an individual account.

Group accounts

Your library may participate in one or more group (consortium) accounts shared with one or more other libraries. For each group account, your library receives a unique FirstSearch authorization number for its use of the account. The group coordinator places the orders for a group account.

Group accounts let libraries share a subscription to FirstSearch databases and/or a number of searches purchased in advance. Only a certain number of users from all group libraries may use a shared account at one time. For searches purchased in advance, users from all group libraries use the searches on a first-come, first-served basis.

Group accounts also let libraries share subscriptions to one or more Electronic Collections Online journals. Users from all group libraries have access to abstracts and full-text articles from those journals.

Cancel accounts

To cancel your account, contact your regional network or service center in the USA, your international division or distributor, or OCLC Library Services, U. S. Division. If you cancel a FirstSearch account within the first 30 days, OCLC refunds unused searches purchased in advance and provides a prorated refund for subscription fees.

Add or remove accounts

If your library's needs cannot be met by a single FirstSearch account, you can add more accounts. If you have too many accounts, you can remove unneeded ones.

Change your account contact, mailing address, or billing address

You can change your account contact person, account mailing address, or account billing address at any time.

Add or remove databases

With a subscription account, you can add databases when you renew the subscription. You can also add databases during the subscription term, with some restrictions.

You can remove databases from a subscription account when you renew the subscription. Libraries seldom remove databases during a subscription term because refunds are available only when an account is canceled within the first 30 days of the term.

With a per-search account, there is no need to add or remove databases because all databases available on a per-search basis are automatically included.

With a subscription or per-search account, you use the administrative module to control which databases in the account your users can access.

Even if your library shares a group account, you may subscribe to additional FirstSearch databases not included in the group subscription. Users logging on with any library's authorization number can access the databases included in the group subscription. Only users logging on with your library's authorization number can access the databases that you add. You place the orders related to any added databases.

For more information about databases, see FirstSearch databases.

Add, renew, change, or cancel Electronic Collections Online journal subscriptions

You can order, renew, change, or cancel journal subscriptions through subscription agents, journal publishers, or OCLC. Even if your library shares a group account, you may subscribe to additional FirstSearch Electronic Collections Online journals not included in the group subscription. Users logging on with any library's authorization number can access the journals included in the group subscription. Only users logging on with your library's authorization number can access the journals that you add. You place the orders related to any additional journals.

For a complete list of Electronic Collections Online journals, participating subscription agents, and publishers, see Publishers and Journals. For more information about subscribing to journals through OCLC, contact your regional network or service center in the USA, your international division or distributor, or OCLC Library Services, U. S. Division.

Purchase additional searches

If you use the per-search billing method, you can purchase additional searches at any time. The additional searches, and any searches remaining in the account when the additional searches are purchased, are valid for two years following the purchase.

Increase or decrease the number of simultaneous users allowed

If you have a subscription account that has a specified number of users who can use the account simultaneously, you can increase the number of simultaneous users when you renew the subscription or at any time during the subscription term. You can decrease the number when you renew the subscription.

Subscription

With the subscription method, you pay a fee for unlimited searching of selected databases for a designated period of time. Most FirstSearch databases are available through this method. The fee varies by the databases selected and by the number of users who can use your account simultaneously or the size of the population served by your library.

Per-search

With the per-search method, you purchase searches in advance in blocks of 500. This method lets many users use your account simultaneously. It provides access to many FirstSearch databases. If you have multiple per-search accounts, you can request that the accounts share a single pool of searches.

Monthly billing for full text

For some FirstSearch databases that contain full text, you can choose to receive a monthly bill covering the full text viewed during the month rather than include the full text in a subscription, or use searches purchased in advance.

Hybrid

You can combine the billing methods described above in a single hybrid account. You choose the databases you want to include in a subscription and also purchase blocks of searches to be used in the same account. The purchased searches are used to access any non-subscription databases.