Training Videos

Welcome To The Cambridge Core Frequently Asked Questions Page

Select a topic below to view questions in that area.

If you require further assistance you can submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

What is Cambridge Core?

Cambridge Core is the principal academic platform from Cambridge University Press. It replaces and combines content from Cambridge Journals Online, Cambridge Books Online, Cambridge Histories Online, Cambridge Companions Online, and Shakespeare Survey Online.

Content

Are all Cambridge books and journals available on Cambridge Core?

Cambridge University Press has published more than 41,000 ebooks on Cambridge Core. Almost all recently published titles, as well as many older titles are available on Cambridge Core. This said, our back library is extensive and it has not been possible to digitise all of our titles yet.

All our peer-reviewed journals and their digitised archives are available online. View a complete list or search by subject on the ‘Browse subject’ pages. For updates about changes to our journals list as a result of welcoming new publishing partners or launching new titles please visit our Journals Publishing Updates page.

In addition, we have a range of individual digital offerings on other platforms, which we look forward to bringing onto Cambridge Core over the next few years. For more information about additional digital collections, please visit the ‘Other Digital Products’ page.

How do I submit an article for a journal?

In order to find out how to submit an article submission please follow the instruction below:

Browse to the journal homepage you wish to submit your article for
Click on the Submit Your Article button found at the top of the journal homepage
You will be taken to the submission information for that particular journal

You can then follow the directions on this page.

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Access to content

How do I access content available to my University or other organisation?

Your organisation may have access to some content on Cambridge Core; please contact your librarian if in doubt about what content your organisation has access to.

If they have access there are a variety of access methods available. Depending on what configuration your organisation has provided to us the access methods may vary. We always recommend contacting your librarian first to check the preferred access method for your organisation.

Accessing via IP recognition

If your organisation has enabled access through IP recognition and you are accessing at the correct location then the content your organisation's content will be available.
- Browse to the content you want by Searching or using a previously saved bookmark
- You can verify you have access by hovering your mouse over the Access Provided By next to the Register / Log In button

Accessing via institutional log in

Institutional Log In (commonly known as Single Sign On) allows you to log in using your organisation's account. If your organisation has not requested their account to be configured to use Institutional Log In then this log in method will result in an error.

Click on the Log In button
Select 'Access through your institution' button
On the Find your institution page, enter the name of your institution in the search box and select from the results displayed
- Check the Remember my choice option for future sessions
- Click Continue to login
You will be taken to your organisation login page. Log in with your username and password as provided by your organisation or institution
Once you log in you will be returned to Cambridge Core
Browse to the content you want by Searching or using a previously saved bookmark

You can verify you have access by hovering your mouse over the Access Provided By next to the Register / Log In button

Using Seamless Access

We support Seamless Access which can be detected if you have logged into your institution from other websites. You can click the Seamless Access button if your previous login was detected and avoid entering your username and password. Alternatively, if no previous session was detected you can click the Seamless Access button to be taken to the regular institution login journey.

Alternatively, you can change your institution using the 'change institution' link under the Seamless Access button.

How can I check whether I have access through an organisation?

If you are getting access through an organisation, it will display the organisation name in the top right of your window when you hover your cursor over 'Access provided by'.

If you are not getting access through an organisation, it will display the 'Institution login' button instead.

If you have questions about what content your institution has access to, please contact your librarian.

Is it possible to trial Cambridge Core prior to making a purchase?

Institutions may arrange a free, no obligation 30-day trial of Cambridge Core. Please contact us for more information.

How do I purchase access to content available on Cambridge Core?

If you are a librarian or purchasing agent at your institution and would like more information on pricing or on how to purchase content available on Cambridge Core, please visit our purchasing models page or contact us for more information.

Where can I find tax and payment information?

Payment instructions and details of additional tax and title changes can be found on our journal's publishing updates page.

Can I purchase or rent individual access to an article?

If you are an individual user you can purchase Journal Articles on Cambridge Core using your Credit/Debit card. To purchase an article follow the instructions below:

Ensure you are logged into Cambridge Core
Locate the article you wish to purchase by searching Cambridge Core
Once you are viewing the page for the article you wish to purchase click the Get Access button.
You will see a pop-up box showing you the price of the article. Click the Add-to-Cart button
Repeat these steps to add more articles to your cart.
Click on the Cart link in the top right hand corner of the Cambridge Core website
You will be taken to your Cart showing you the article(s) you wish to purchase.
Click Continue
Fill out your address details and click Use this Address
- Please note that special and accented characters should not be included
Check your details on the Confirm Cart page and click Checkout
You will be asked to provide payment details
Once payment is successful the article(s) will be added to your account and an order receipt will be sent to your email address.
Browse to the articles you have purchased in Cambridge Core to access the articles

If you require further assistance you can submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

Can I inform my librarian I wish to have access to content?

You can recommend content unavailable to your organisation by selecting the ‘recommend to your librarian’ button.

Can I purchase or rent individual access to a book chapter?

Chapter purchase or rental is not available on Cambridge Core at the moment. In the future, we will have the ability for you to purchase access to a book chapter.

If you would like to get access to a piece of content, you can use the ‘recommend to your librarian’ button, or click the 'Buy the print book' button to purchase a print copy of the book.

Can journal subscriptions be purchased directly on the Cambridge Core website?

At present it is not possible to purchase journal subscriptions via the Cambridge Core website. You can contact our journals team for further information.

This functionality is currently planned for a future implementation.

Can I purchase access to Cambridge Core content through my consortium?

If you wish to purchase access to content on Cambridge Core through your library consortium, you can pass their details to us and we will contact them to arrange your deal. Contact us for further details.

Are there any archival rights?

Customers should refer to the Terms and Conditions of Sale that are part of our purchasing process for full details on archival access.

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Activating content

How do I activate a journal subscription?

There are two ways to activate a journal subscription depending on whether it is for an individual, or an institution.

For institutional subscriptions

To activate a subscription you must be the Administrator of the organisation. You will also need a subscription number which should be a 10 digit number.

Log-In to Cambridge Core
Click on My Account in the top right hand corner
Under the Organisation Home section on the left hand side select the Content Holdings option
Enter the subscription number into the "Activate journal subscription" and click Activate
The subscription will activate and the content will be available.
If you receive a message that the subscription number is invalid or activation is not successful, then check your content access. The subscription number may already have been activated.

For individual subscriptions - In your account area, select “My content”. In the “Activate journal subscription” field, enter your 10 digit subscription number and click Activate.

How do I find my subscriber number?

When you purchase a subscription, either direct from Cambridge or via a subscription agent, you will be sent your subscription number by email if we have your email address, if not, by post.

If you are receiving print versions of the journal, the subscriber number appears on the mailing sheet you get in the journal package. If your journal has been dispatched from the UK, you will find the number just above your address. If your journal has been dispatched from North America, you will find the number just below the barcode and just after the customer number. If you do not have any record of the number and you purchased the subscription via an agent, please contact the agent in the first instance. In case of difficulty, please contact our customer services team.

How do I redeem an access code?

To redeem an access code, you need a Cambridge Core account. If you do not have a Cambridge Core account, register here.

You can redeem an access code by following these steps:

Log in to your Cambridge Core account
Click on My Account in the top-right hand corner
Under the My Account area click on My Content
Enter your access code in the “Redeem access code” field within the My Content page
Click Activate

How do I claim for missing issues of my print journal subscription?

Please contact our journals team for assistance with print journal subscription queries.

How do I activate a society membership?

In your account area, select “My societies”. Under the heading “Activate society membership”, enter the Society ID and membership number into the relevant boxes and click Submit.

My institution orders deeply-discounted print (DDP) with our collection agreement. Will this continue to be offered?

We will be honouring any existing agreements where DDP has been offered for the duration of the contract. However, any new agreements from 2023 onwards will no longer offer DDP. DDP will also not continue for individual journals that convert to online only in a given year.

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Your personal account

How do I log in to my account?

Click on the blue 'login' button in the top right hand corner of Cambridge Core.
Select the large blue Log In button in the middle of the screen
Enter your username and password to complete the log in process

How do I access my account details?

Select the blue ‘login’ (if not yet logged in) or ‘My account’ (if logged in) button on the top-right corner of your screen to access your account.

What are the Password Requirements?

Password require a minimum of 8 characters in length and the password must contain at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number.

Please note that any characters that are not standard on an English keyboard, such as ñ à é í ö are not accepted and nor are the following special characters: & = % <

How do I change my password?

In your account area, select “My account settings” then select the “Change password” tab and enter your current and new password in the appropriate fields. When you are finished, click Save.

How do I reset my password?

If you need to reset your Cambridge Core user account password please follow the instructions below.

Click this link to be taken to the Forgotten Password page.

Enter your e-mail address to the Reistered E-Mail box
Click Send Email
You will receive an email with a link to reset your password.
If you do not receive an email within 1 hour please check your junk/spam box in your email client.

If you require further assistance you can submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

I had an account on Cambridge Journals Online or Cambridge Books Online, how do I log in to Cambridge Core?

All accounts from Cambridge Journals Online and Cambridge Books Online have been migrated across to Cambridge Core. If you previously had an account on Cambridge Journals Online or Cambridge Books Online it is important you log in to Cambridge Core using the email address associated to your old account to ensure continued access to content.

For security reasons, passwords from the previous platform have not been brought across. If you are attempting to log in to Cambridge Core for the first time with your Cambridge Journals Online account or Cambridge Books Online account details, you must first reset your password.

Usernames do not exist on Cambridge Core. Your Cambridge Core login will be the email address associated with your account. If you have forgotten your email address, please submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

How do I change the email address on my account?

To change your email address, log in to your Cambridge Core account and visit the ‘My account settings’ page.

Under ‘personal details’, update the ‘email address’ field and click ‘save’. Your email address will now be updated. Next time you log in to Cambridge Core, you will need to use this new email address.

How can I sign up to alerts from Cambridge Core?

You can sign up to journal table of contents alerts here or sign up to Librarian Alerts.

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Your organisation administrator account

For more details on how to use your organisation account, please see our detailed user guides which cover:

Downloading bibliographic data, e.g. MARC Records and KBART lists
Downloading usage reports
Updating your organisation details, including organisation logos and OpenURL
Configuring Shibboleth access
View content requests
Download content holdings
Using ebook self service

How do I request / create an organisation account?

If you represent an organisation that wishes to manage and deliver Cambridge Core content throughout your institution then you can request an organisation account which grants additional functions such as different access methods to control authentication, reports related to your bibliographic entitlements and usage of the content you have purchased for Cambridge Core.

To request an organisation follow the instructions below:

Log into Cambridge Core with your username and password.
Ensure you do not have an organisation account already by clicking on My Account in Cambridge Core and checking if you have My Organisation options on the left hand side of My Account.
Click the "Request an Organisation account here" button
Fill out the Request An Account For Your Organisation form.
Optionally you can setup IP and/or Shibboleth access modes at the end of the form
Click Submit to send the form.
Your application will be checked to ensure that your organisation doesn't already exist and you will be contacted via e-mail with confirmation of your organisation account.

How do I access my account?

Select the blue ‘login’ (if not yet logged in) or ‘My account’ (if logged in) button on the top-right corner of your screen to access your organisation account.

How can I set up or change an administrator account for my organisation?

You must first register for a user account on Cambridge Core.

Apply for an organisation account by filling out the account request form that can be found in your account and the services for librarians area.

Your request will then be sent to our Technical Support Team for verification. They will endeavour to get back to you within 72 hours when your account will be ready to use.

If you are an existing administrator for an organisation with an account on Cambridge Core and you wish to add a new administrator or you wish to be added as an administrator to an existing organisation account please submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team who will get in contact with you.

How do I set up my EZ Proxy configuration?

In order to set up EZ Proxy access to Cambridge Core, you need to use the domain name: https://www.cambridge.org/core/

OCLC have provided an EZproxy stanza for Cambridge Core here.

How do I configure IP access for my organisation?

You can review your IP addresses by following the steps below.

Log-In to Cambridge Core using your username and password.
Click On My Account in the top right hand corner of Cambridge Core
Under Organisation Home on the left hand side select Access and Authentication
You will see your organisation's IP addresses listed under the IP Addresses tab. You will see Authorised IP Addresses and Blocked IP Addresses
To make changes to IP addresses please submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

How do I add a remote user to my organisation?

If you are a user of Cambridge Core and you wish to request remote user access please consult your Librarian or appropriate person to contact Cambridge University Press.

Administrators of organisational accounts can request to add Remote Users by submitting a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

How do I access usage data for my organisation on Cambridge Core?

To retrieve usage statistics (Counter) for the Cambridge Core platform you must be an Administrator for the organisation/institution in question. Cambridge Core usage statistics are available from September 2016-Present Day. For usage statistics before September 2016 see below.

Log into Cambridge Core
Click on My Account in the top right hand corner
On the left hand side, under Organisation Home click on Usage Statistics
Enter your start and end date in the Download COUNTER reports area for the data you wish to retrieve
Select the type of report you wish to run and the format (CSV or TXT) you want in the Select a report and format box
Click Request Report and the report will generator and the progress will be displayed on the page.
When finished a download button will be displayed
You can have 3 reports running simultaneously.

How do I access usage data from before Cambridge Core launched?

Historic usage from Cambridge Journals Online and Cambridge Books Online can be downloaded in your Cambridge Core account by going to 'Usage statistics' and then scrolling down to the 'Archived usage statistics' section. You can then select from a JR1, JR1A or BR2 report.

The historic usage is available as downloadable excel spreadsheets for each year since 2010.

Log into Cambridge Core
Click on My Account in the top right hand corner
On the left hand side, under Organisation Home click on Usage Statistics
Scroll to the bottom of the page to the Archived usage statistics area. If your organisation has any usage statistics available for before September 2016 they will be shown there.

How do I set up inbound openURLs?

It is possible to set up inbound openURLs to link directly to an article, book, chapter or journal page on Cambridge Core. Find out more about the specifications and see examples of how to use the parameters here.

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Using Cambridge Core

For help with navigating Cambridge Core and accessing content, please see our user guides.

How do you search for content on Cambridge Core?

Click on the search bar in the centre of Cambridge Core or Click on the search bar in the top right hand corner of any other Cambridge Core website
Enter your search term and click on the magnifying glass icon or press the enter key
The search results will display on the following scree

How do you refine search results on Cambridge Core?

When you have your search results on-screen you can refine your searching using the Refine Search options on the left hand side of the website.

Access

Only Show Content I Have Access To - This option will restrict the search results to show you only content you have access too, this will include free and open access content as well as content you or your organisation that you are logged in as has purchased entitlement to.

Only Show Open Access - This option will restrict the search results to only show content set as Open Access.

Content Type

Articles - Ticking this option will restrict the search results to only show Journal Articles that match the search criteria

Chapters - Ticking this option will restrict the search results to only show chapters of books that match the search criteria

Books - Ticking this option will restrict the search results to only show books that match the search criteria

Author - Entering a name into the Author text box will restrict the search results to only show content attributed to authors that match the name entered

Publication Date

Last 3 Years - Ticking this box will restrict the search results to content published in the last 3 years

Over 3 Years - Ticking this box will restrict the search results to content older than 3 years

From/To Year - Entering a year into the from/to boxes will restrict the search results to the desired range of years. So for example, if you enter To: 1977 From: 1979 then you will see content published between 1977 and 1979.

Subject - Ticking subjects in this section will restrict the search results to only the selected subjects

Tags - Entering a word into the Tags text box will restrict the search results to only display content that have Tags that match the entered word. Tags are also known as Keywords

Journals - Ticking Journals in this section will restrict the search results to only show content from the selected Journals

Publishers - Ticking Publishers in this section will restrict the search results to only show content from the selected Publishers

Societies - Ticking Societies in this section will restrict the search results to only show content from the selected Societies

Series - Ticking Series in this section will restrict the search results to only show content from the selected Series

Collections - Ticking Collections in this section will restrict the search results to only show content from the selected Collections

How do I open or download a PDF?

If PDFs of content you have access to, don't open or download automatically when clicked, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer. It can be download here: http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/

How do I send a PDF to my Kindle?

If you have a Kindle, you can send PDFs of content you have access to, to read on it at a later time.

To send content to your Kindle, first ensure <no-reply@cambridge.org> is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account.

Click the ‘send to Kindle’ button, and enter your Kindle email address.

Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

You can send up to 10MB of content to your kindle. If you are having problems sending content, please try again selecting fewer items. Alternatively you can download the content as a PDF or send to Dropbox or Google Drive.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

How do I send a PDF to my Google Drive?

To send content items to your Google Drive account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Google Drive account.

How do I send a PDF to my Dropbox account?

To send content items to your Dropbox account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Dropbox account.

Can I get an RSS feed from Cambridge Core?

Yes, RSS feeds are available to alert you to the latest publishing in journals and subjects of your choice.

You can activate the journals feeds from the journals listing page, or from your chosen journal homepage, issue page or article page. In each case look for the RSS icon. Simply click the icon to sign up to the feed. On the journals listing page the icons are over on the right hand side, corresponding to each journal in the A-Z list. On journals homepages themselves, the icons appear in the image at the top right of the page, next to the existing email alerts icon.

For RSS alerts by subject, choose your subject on the ‘Browse Subjects‘ page, open the subject page and click the same icon at the top right of the page. The subject RSS feeds will alert you when new content is published in both books and journals in your chosen subject.

What do I do if I see a page of dense text when I click on the RSS icon?

The page you are seeing is the raw metadata for the RSS feed (in XML format), it means that your web browser does not support RSS feeds and you will need to add a feed reader to the browser or sign up to a separate feed reader like Feedly.

There are variations in the way RSS feeds are rendered in different browsers.

For example:

Google Chrome doesn't support RSS feeds but extensions can be added. Please see: https://www.ricksdailytips.com/cant-read-rss-feeds-with-chrome/
Microsoft Edge does not support RSS. There is more information here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_internet-insider_spartan-insiderplat_pc/will-microsoft-edge-browser-support-rss-feeds/778b6dd2-346e-44d3-a1c7-2e9350f4c958

If you have issues viewing RSS feeds, we recommend the following:

There may be a ‘+’ symbol in your RSS feed reader which you can use to add a new feed. Then you can add the URL from the page you see when you click the RSS icon in Cambridge Core.
Check which feed reader you use. For example, with Feedly, you can simply paste the feed URL in Feedly search and subscribe to the feed.
If you want to view an RSS feed in your browser, search for browser add-ons for ‘RSS Feeds’ in the help section

What is Altmetric?

Altmetric is a system that tracks the attention research outputs such as scholarly articles and datasets receive online. Using data from social media outputs, traditional media, blogs and online reference managers, Altmetric creates an attention score influenced by the quantity of posts and the quality of the post’s source and displays the score in a donut.

For more information please visit https://help.altmetric.com/support/solutions

Cambridge Core currently provides Altmetric scores for journal articles and books. If an Altmetric score is available it is displayed on the metrics tabs on the individual content pages.

Do you support Microsoft Internet Explorer 11?

Technical support for Internet Explorer 11 ended on the Cambridge Core website on Tuesday 17 August 2021. If you currently use Internet Explorer 11 we recommend you switch to another of our supported browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari) to ensure you are able to make full use of our digital offering.

This decision was timed with the announcement from Microsoft that they will no longer be supporting Internet Explorer and have recommended their users migrate to Microsoft Edge. This website will still be accessible through Internet Explorer 11 but we will no longer be able to guarantee all features will be compatible. By ending our support for Internet Explorer 11 our technical teams will be able to increase the pace of development and testing for new features in the future.

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If you require further assistance you can submit a diagnostics form to our Technical Support Team.

Help

Training Videos

Content

Access to content

Activating content

Your personal account

Your organisation administrator account

Using Cambridge Core