On October 1, 1997, billed MEDLARS User ID codes issued before October 1994 and not used for the past three years were deactivated. A second purging of unused codes was done in April. This second group of purged codes were originally distributed at outreach classes, but NLM never received billing and/or address information for them. Most of these codes have been held for a long time without ever being used. If you have problems with a code not working and you are unable to access the NLM databases you need via the free search engines available on the Web, please contact NLM at custserv@nlm.nih.gov or call 1-888-346-3656 for assistance with your code question. To register online and receive a new code immediately, go to https://access.nlm.nih.gov; you must supply a credit card number to use the online registration system. The only reason to go to this address for a code is to search ELHILL databases NOT yet available on the Web. Users who need codes for Loansome Doc should go to http://tendon.nlm.nih.gov/ld/loansome.html.
Institutional Student Codes to be Discontinued on 10/1/98
NLM will deactivate all previously distributed institutional student codes on October 1, 1998. As noted in the NLM Technical Bulletin 1997 Sep-Oct;(298):2, the Library stopped issuing new institutional student accounts effective October 1, 1997. The Library is encouraging instructors to teach PubMed and Internet Grateful Med.