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Home   •   About CAS  •  FAQs

FAQ List and Information for New Visitors

This is a quick orientation and overview of CAS for visitors to our web site.

• What is CAS?
• What is a CAS Registry Number?
• Tell me briefly about CAS products.
• Does CAS offer any free services?
• Which CAS Product is right for me?
• How much will it cost?
• How can a publication get abstracted/indexed by CAS?
• Is there a listing of the journals covered by CAS?
• Does CAS have a privacy policy?
• Who do I contact if I have a question or problem?

A. CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) is a division of the American Chemical Society. We are located in Columbus, Ohio. CAS is the producer of the largest and most comprehensive databases of chemical information. Our principal databases are Chemical Abstracts (CA^SM), which contains over 29 million document records from the chemical journal and patent literature, and CAS REGISTRY^SM, which contains more than 35 million substance and 59 million sequence records. (view latest numbers)

CAS also operates STN International, an online service with partner organizations in Europe and Asia. STN provides access to a broad range of respected science and technology databases.

Q. What is a CAS Registry Number?

A. CAS Registry Numbers (often referred to as CAS RNs or CAS Numbers) are unique identifiers for chemical substances. A CAS Registry Number itself has no inherent chemical significance but provides an unambiguous way to identify a chemical substance or molecular structure when there are many possible systematic, generic, proprietary, or trivial names.

CAS Registry Numbers are used in many other public and private databases as well as chemical inventory listings and, of course, are included in all CAS-produced databases.

Q. Tell me briefly about CAS products.

A. CAS offers online, web-based, desktop, print, and CD-ROM access to databases covering science, engineering, technology, patents, business information, and much more. These products are designed to accommodate a wide range of information needs, whether you are an infrequent searcher who only needs a few quick answers or a professional searcher who requires a more powerful and comprehensive set of search tools.

CAS products are fee based and generally require you to set up an account.

Q. Does CAS offer any free services?

A. In STN, there are "learning" versions of CAS' principal databases CA and CAS REGISTRY. Learning databases are subsets of the complete databases, and users are only charged a small connect hour fee. There are no search or display charges when using learning databases. Contact CAS Customer Care for details.

Q. Which CAS product is right for me?

A. This is a difficult question to quickly answer for new users. It depends on many factors such as how comprehensive your search and answers need to be, your familiarity and experience with online searching, the medium you wish to search in, and how frequently you need to search. Of course, cost is also a consideration.

Click here for a quick assessment.

If you are still unsure about the most suitable product for you, CAS Customer Care will be happy to help you.

• SciFinder is a desktop research tool suitable for both professional searchers and research scientists. You do not have to be an expert searcher to use SciFinder. Many organizations around the world use SciFinder to give their scientists direct access to CAS databases. SciFinder packages and subscriptions can be tailored to smaller groups as well.
• SciFinder Scholar^TM is similar to SciFinder except it is for use in academic settings only.
• STN is the access point to a comprehensive collection of databases covering science, technology, patents, engineering, and business information. It is a command-based online service and at least some training in the STN search language is recommended in order to benefit from the precision and power of the system. The STN Express software package will help make STN searching more efficient and productive.
• STN on the Web^SM brings all the power and functionality of STN to a web-based system. Structure searching capabilities are included.
• STN Easy is a web-based interface to the most popular databases available on STN. There is no command language to learn, so this service is suited to both infrequent searchers and those who need a simpler, more guided information resource.
• CAS offers CD-ROM and print products suitable for both institution (comprehensive collections) and individual (current awareness) use. Those involved with regulatory compliance might be especially interested in National Chemical Inventories.

Q. How much will it cost?

A. Costs depend on the product you are using. Products like STN and STN Easy are "pay-as-you-go" services with no subscription or monthly fees. The full STN Price List is available as a PDF file, and STN Easy prices are available online.

SciFinder pricing is based on the number of users and the extent of access required. You should contact CAS Customer Care for further information. Prices for other products are listed in the CAS Price List.

Q. How can a publication get abstracted/indexed by CAS?

A. Publishers interested in having a journal considered for inclusion in Chemical Abstracts should send either a copy of the first issue (if it is a new publication) or three different and recent issues if it has already been published for some time to:

Chemical Abstracts Service - CAS
Acquisitions / Evaluation Dept.
P.O. Box 3012
Columbus, OH 43210
U.S.A.

Electronic journal publishers can send URL pointers to: ctsacq@cas.org

We will be delighted to have our selector team of chemists determine whether the journal meets our editorial criteria for abstracting and indexing in CA.

Q. Is there a listing of journals covered by CAS?

A. There is a list of the core journals covered in CAplus. This list includes both the complete and abbreviated journal titles, the CODEN, and frequency of publication. Note, however, that this is not the complete list of journals covered by CAS.

Q. Does CAS have a privacy policy?

A. Yes. Click here for details.

Q. Who do I contact if I have a question or problem?

A. You have several options depending on the nature of your question or concern. Use the following as a guide:

• Contact CAS Customer Care for general questions about CAS or STN products. This would include account setup and status, costs, ordering information, obtaining user documentation, etc. CAS Customer Care can also assist with search strategies and using CAS products. CAS Customer Care is open 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Eastern Time (Monday - Friday).
• Contact the CAS Document Detective Service when you need to order a copy of a journal article or patent.
• Contact CAS Client Services if you need confirmation/assignment of CAS Registry Numbers and chemical names or substance identification.
• For inquiries outside North America, see the list of official CAS/STN representatives who can answer CAS and STN related questions.
• We also recommend trying the site search feature of this web site. It doesn't search the fee-based databases for references, CAS Registry Numbers, etc., but it is a useful way to find content on the web site.

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