Connect to the OSU Libraries Web site at: http://library.osu.edu A gray/red button with the words Off campus Sign In should display near the top of the Web page.
If the gray/red Sign In button appears:
Click the button and a page with the sign-in will appear.Which part of the sign-in form should I complete?
If the gray/red Sign In button does not appear:
If you connect via HomeNet or OSU Web.net you are automatically assigned an OSU IP address and the gray/red button will not appear. You should be able to use all resources listed on the Libraries' Web site.
If you use a commercial Internet provider, you should contact them and ask if they support proxy servers or use a proxy server themselves. You might encounter problems if your ISP uses a proxy server
If you do not have or do not know your OSU/University username and password, please refer to,
Long-term employees may have a username that is a holdover from a former Magnus email account and need to use that username and not Name.N. Check your email software to determine what your username is or contact the OIT Help Desk, 688-help or 8help@osu.edu.
The following string of characters will appear in the middle of the URL: ....proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/...
If you believe you know your OSU/University username and password and are typing it correctly and still can't login:
Persons enrolled or employed by the following should complete the OSU Students, Faculty, and Staff portion of the sign-in form:
Persons enrolled or employed by the following should select the OhioLINK option near the bottom of the sign-in form:
EZproxy is mostly browser independent, i.e., any browser (Other than AOL) should typically work with EZproxy.
Browsers that work: Netscape, 4.x or 7.x; Internet Explorer, 5.x and higher;
Firefox or Mozilla, 1.x or higher; and Safari, 1.x or higher.
Online databases and electronic journals subscribed by The Ohio State University Libraries are restricted, by the vendors, for use by OSU students, faculty and staff.
Most online resources control access by your computer's IP address. Anyone coming from a campus IP address gets access, but are refused access if they connect from off campus.
To provide off-campus access for OSU users a proxy server is used. It performs two primary functions:
Off-campus users connect to the proxy server, login to verify they are affiliated with OSU, then the proxy server connects to the resource for them and passes information back and forth. Since the proxy server is coming from on-campus, its IP address is accepted by the online resources.
Authentication should require no configuration on your computer. When you click on a link to an online library resource, our server checks whether your computer is on-campus or off.
If there are problems, you may need to make sure the
browser is accepting cookies and that your browser is not
currently configured to use another proxy server.
Your browser security setting should be set to Medium and you may need to alter your firewall settings.
ISPs that use proprietary versions of browsers, such as AOL or Prodigy, MAY cause some problems for EZproxy. A simple workaround is to connect to the provider, minimize your session and use your own copy of Netscape, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Mozilla for web surfing instead of their browser.
Another common problem is that during set up of dial-up, cable, or broadband connections, certain browser settings get configured according to THEIR preferences.
NetZero uses a proxy in their HiSpeed service. You must disable this setting in order to sign in via the Libraries' EZproxy software.
At this time, the authentication server is used only for providing off-campus access to online resources (databases, electronic journals, e-books) subscribed to by your campus. Almost all online library resources are made accessible to off-campus users this way.
Due to license restrictions some resources may be available only on selected
computers in specific campus libraries. This information may be indicated two
ways.
1) Search the resource name via the Research Databases Web page and look for a
Public Note about access. For example see the SciFinder
resource record.
2) Check the Web site of the appropriate campus library. For example the Business
Library’s Web site has an In-House Resources link listing business resources
available only on selected computers in the Business
Library.
EZproxy's method of proxying should minimize these problems, and provide greater options for correction.
Most problems using EZproxy from work need to be resolved with your company's IT staff. Many corporations use firewalls and/or proxy servers for network security reasons.
Some companies have employee's browsers configured to use their own proxy server (or not enable acceptance of cookies, or some other security setting) that may interfere with EZproxy's functioning.
Please check with your system administrator at work to see if this could be causing you trouble.
You will get an Hostname Error page when you attempt to access a database that has not yet been set up for use by EZproxy.
The EZproxy administrator must specify all the domains (i.e., silverplatter.com) and computer hostnames (i.e., spweb.silverplatter.com) for which EZproxy should be used. In this case, all the online library resources.
Database vendors often change domain names, or pull content from new computer hosts without ever informing libraries. Thus, when a hostname error occurs, EZproxy's configuration must be updated to include the new host for proxying.
To expedite correction of this error, please note:
and report it via the Problem form.
Both EZproxy and certain databases send "cookies" when you connect to them to verify, during your session, that you are an authorized user.
Your browser reported an error receiving a "cookie" and MAY be currently set to disallow cookies.
EZproxy delivers error pages to users for certain common problems. These will usually have the Libraries' header and information relevant to explaining the problem and solution.
There are a variety of common errors that occur during general surfing of the Internet. When they occur, the web server (or web browser) sends an error page for you to view - usually without a lot of explanation. These may or may not be related to EZproxy. Two common Internet errors are:
Users may get these errors for a variety of reasons.
Whenever you get an error page, especially one that doesn't come from EZproxy, it is important you note what the error page says, the URL you were trying to access (and from where) and other relevant information.
and report it via the Problem form.
There are two possibilities: you are trying to access a restricted resource or there is some other problem.
Try your off-campus login information. That will work for resources that we have been asked to authenticate. Normally, you should not have to do this because for regular resources, EZproxy is set up NOT to be used when users are on computers with on-campus IP addresses.
If this does not work, please note which resource for which you receive a login prompt. Report it via the Problem form.
There are two possibilities: an error or a password-protected resource.
Almost all online resources validate users by their IP address. Occasionally, a vendor requires usernames and passwords. You must use these resources in a campus library.
Otherwise, a login screen is an indication of an access error, perhaps requiring a change in our server's configuration.
Report it via the Problem form.
The various database vendors use a variety of programming methods on their database web sites. Some of these methods can make it hard for our server to keep passing information between you and the site. If certain links or other aspects of the site aren't functioning, there are a few primary possibilities:
This is not an access problem. You can call the Main Library reference desk at 292-6175 for assistance, or Ask-A-Librarian online.
You can search OSCAR, view your patron record, and access electronic reserves from off-campus without first signing-in to the Proxy Server. However you will not be able connect to electronic journals or electronic reserves articles hosted on a non-OSU computer unless you sign-in to the Proxy Server. If you expect to use such resources via OSCAR you should sign-in to the Proxy Server before connecting to OSCAR.
Some full text journals are freely available to anyone on the Internet, either for a limited time or permanently.
Most of the ACS electronic journals available to OSU users are accessed from the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center (EJC). The OSU Libraries and OhioLINK use different software to validate users for off campus access to electronic resources. We discovered that off campus access to ACS e-journals works differently via the Libraries' proxy software and the OhioLINK authentication process, but regardless of which sign-in method you use, one of the following pathways to ACS journals should work.
From the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center, locate the journal title, open the table of contents and click the Article Description link. Then try one of these two options.
The OSU Libraries also subscribes to some ACS e-journals that are not part of the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center. We successfully connected to these ACS e-journals and accessed full text when connecting from off campus and signing in via the Libraries' proxy software.
If you have tried all of the above options and think that our EZproxy remote authentication service may be down, report this via the Problem form. Evenings or weekends please call the Main Library Circulation Desk at 614-292-6154 and ask them to notify the Libraries IT staff.