FAQ

For information about the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB), including its history and how often it’s updated, please visit our About page.

For help using the Oxford DNB, including how to log in, search, and browse, please visit our Help pages.

Click on a question to be taken straight to the answer. If you cannot find an answer to your question, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

About the Oxford DNB

How to use the Oxford DNB

Technical and access questions

About the Oxford DNB

Is the Oxford DNB free, or do I need a subscription to access it?

Yes, in order to access the content on the Oxford DNB you, or your library, must purchase access to the content. Find out how to subscribe.

How can I see the newest content published online?

You can click this link to see recently published articles.

I would like to suggest a new article or an edit to an existing article. What should I do?

We welcome our readers’ feedback. Please contact us with as much detail as possible, and the editorial team will review your suggestion.

What are your policies around the use of artificial intelligence?

We do not permit our authors to use generative AI to write content or create images, unless they are being used to discuss or to illustrate artificial intelligence, and are clearly cited or credited. See Author Use of Generative AI for more information.

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How to use the Oxford DNB

Do Boolean operators and other search helpers work?

Yes. Common searching commands, such as double quotes or parentheses around search terms, * wildcard, and Boolean operators AND/OR/NOT, will work when searching.

How can I perform an advanced search?

Advanced search options are available in the left sidebar of search or browse results list. You can run a quick search, select a browse category, or click the magnifying glass icon in the quick search bar to browse the entire site first to access these options. For more information about narrowing search and browse results, see our Help page.

Why do the filtering options on my search or browse results keep changing?

Many of these filters are dynamic, and only appear when matching articles are present in the results list. For more on searching, see our Quick search section on the help page.

Can I print content, or save it as a PDF?

Yes. You can print and save individual articles to which you have access. To generate a PDF of an individual article, simply click on the "PDF" icon link at the top right of the article text, then download the PDF using your web browser. To print an article hover over the “share” icon and choose “Print” from the list that appears. Please note that copyright restrictions apply. 

Find out more about the article page in our Help section.

How much material can I legally print or save to PDF?

You are limited by copyright restrictions to the amount of information you can print and download. It is very important that you read our Privacy Policy and Legal Notice, which includes information on downloading PDFs.

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Technical and access questions

Which browsers should I use?

The Oxford DNB is designed to display and function correctly on the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and MS Edge.

How accessible is the Oxford DNB? For example, will my screen-reader software work with it?

To help achieve our objective of excellence in research, scholarship and education and as part of our commitment to serving our customers and users, Oxford University Press is striving to make its products accessible to and inclusive of all our users, including those with visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairments. Visit the Accessibility page to find out more.

What is your policy on third party data mining?

OUP recognizes the research benefit of Text and Data Mining (TDM) across a variety of research fields. As such, we are happy to accommodate TDM for non-commercial use.

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