FAQ for Off-Campus Access to Library Resources
Access to the OHSU Library's electronic resources is determined by the library's policy, Accessing and Using Licensed Electronic Resources. This FAQ provides additional information, including procedures for obtaining access. If you have questions that are not answered here, please e-mail liboff@ohsu.edu for more information.
Accessing electronic resources from off-campus
What can I access?
Q. Which information resources can I access from off-campus?
A. If you are OHSU faculty or staff or an admitted student, you may access our databases and most of our electronic journals with your library barcode number. If you are a non-OHSU patron who is a licensed Oregon health professional, you are not eligible to access most Library resources from off-campus. However, you may be eligible for an OVID account, which provides access to MEDLINE and other databases. To see if you are eligible and/or to sign up, please go to the Library Barcode Application Form.
Q. Do I need a library barcode to access Ovid?
A. Yes. You no longer need an Ovid username and password unless you plan to save search strategies or use the SDI/Auto Alert/Current Awareness service.
Q. Why can I get into some electronic journals without logging in?
A. Some full text journals are freely available to anyone on the Internet, either for a limited time or permanently. These titles are listed on the electronic journal pages, but they do not require a login.
Q. Why can't I access all the library's databases and electronic journals from off-campus?
A. Some resources cannot be accessed from off-campus because the vendor/publisher will not permit off-campus access. Others are unavailable because the technology they use to validate users is not compatible with the software we use for validating off-campus users. If a resource you need is not available for off-campus access, please drop a note to library@ohsu.edu to let us know. We will check whether the status of off-campus availability has changed.
Eligibility for Access - General
Q. How do I get a library barcode/off-campus access?
A. You can apply for a library barcode in person at the OHSU Main Library on the 3rd floor of the BICC building, or at the Samuel L. Diack Library in the Paul Clayton Building of the OGI School of Science & Engineering. OHSU faculty, staff, and students and licensed Oregon health professionals may complete the Web-based application.
Q. I have been told that I am not eligible for off-campus access to electronic resources, but I believe that I am eligible. Whom should I contact?
A. Please contact Janet Crum, Head of Administration & Systems, OHSU Library, crumj@ohsu.edu, 503-494-0691.
Q. I am collaborating with someone who isn't affiliated with OHSU. May I share my library account with this person?
A. Absolutely not. Sharing account credentials violates OHSU Policy 11-20-010, Acceptable Use of Computing and Telecommunications Resources and makes OHSU liable for violating our licenses with publishers. Never give your library barcode to anyone, whether or not they are affiliated with OHSU. You are liable for all uses of your account.
Q. I think someone else has gotten access to my library account/library barcode. What should I do?
A. If you believe that your account information has been compromised, please e-mail liboff@ohsu.edu immediately, so we can issue you a new barcode and disable the old one.
Eligibility for Access - Faculty
Q. I have a faculty appointment, but I am not paid by OHSU and therefore do not have an OHSU employee ID number. May I have access?
A. Yes. To get a library account, come to the Circulation Desk on the 3rd floor of the Main Library and complete a barcode application form indicating the type of appointment. Please note that a copy of your OHSU faculty appointment letter must be on file with your school's academic office. Once we have verified your appointment with the academic office, you will have access for the duration of your appointment.
Q. I am an unpaid faculty member without an official faculty appointment. May I have access?
A. No. An official faculty appointment is required for access.
Q. I am an unpaid faculty member without an official faculty appointment. How do I get a faculty appointment so I can have access?
A. Faculty appointments are granted by departments. Please consult with your department to determine if you qualify for a faculty appointment and, if you do, how to obtain one.
Eligibility for Access - Students
Q. I am not enrolled in any OHSU courses, but I am completing my OHSU dissertation. May I have access?
A. No. You must be enrolled in an OHSU course to access electronic resources. Please check with your department regarding enrolling in a 1-credit course for students completing their dissertations.
Q. I am an enrolled student, but I am taking the summer off. May I keep my off-campus access during the summer?
A. Yes. The library extends access to students through August 31. You must be registered for fall term in order to continue to have access past August 31.
Q. I am a student enrolled in the Clinical Laboratory Science and Medical Technology program. May I have access?
A. Yes. Students in this joint program are granted off-campus access under the same terms as any other OHSU student. As long as you are registered for classes in the program, you will receive access.
Q. I am a student enrolled in the OIT Paramedic program. May I have access?
A. Yes. Students in this joint OIT/OHSU program are granted off-campus access under the same terms as any other OHSU student. As long as you are registered for classes in the program, you will receive access.
Q. I am a student enrolled in the OSU Pharmacy program. May I have access?
A. Students in the third and fourth years of this program are granted off-campus access under the same terms as any other OHSU student. As long as you are registered for classes in the third or fourth year of the program, you will receive access.
Q. I am a student participating in the Speech-Language Pathology Fellowship Program. May I have access?
A. Yes. Participants in the Speech-Language Pathology Fellowship Program are granted off-campus access. We receive a list of participants yearly from CDRC.
Eligibility for Access - Visitors
Q. I am a visiting student. May I have access while I'm at OHSU?
A. Yes, if you have been accepted by the School of Medicine as a visiting student and are currently serving in a rotation, as outlined at http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/academic/som/MD/stu-lcme-visiting.cfm. Visiting students are granted access for the duration of their rotations.
Q. I am a visiting faculty member. May I have access?
A. Visiting faculty are considered visiting scholars. Please see the question below for details on access.
Q. I am a visiting scientist/scholar/staff member. May I have access?
A. Possibly. The following people may have access if they have an OHSU Affiliate Appointment:
Visiting scholars
Fellows
Visiting professors/lecturers
Visiting scientists
To obtain an OHSU Affiliate Appointment, follow the procedures outlined in Instructions for Obtaining OHSU Affiliate Appointments and Authorization to Work at OHSU (Main Campus: http://www.ohsu.edu/cc/affil_check.doc; West Campus: http://www.ohsu.edu/cc/affil_checkwest.doc). Once you have received an Affiliate Appointment, please bring us a copy of the completed OHSU Affiliate Checklist and OHSU Affiliate Information Sheet, along with your OHSU ID badge. Based on the information in those documents, we will determine if you are eligible for remote access to library resources. If you are eligible, we will grant you access for the duration of your appointment.
Q. I am a fellow participating in the Speech-Language Pathology Fellowship Program. May I have access?
A. Yes. Participants in the Speech-Language Pathology Fellowship Program are granted off-campus access. We receive a list of participants yearly from CDRC.
Eligibility for Access – Volunteers and Others
Q. I am an OHSU volunteer. May I have access to electronic resources?
A. You may access electronic resources from any workstation on the OHSU network, but you may not access electronic resources remotely unless you are a volunteer with a faculty appointment.
Q. I am not affiliated with OHSU. May I purchase a library account to access electronic resources?
A. If you are a licensed health professional in Oregon, you may request an account at no charge which will allow access to a subset of the library's electronic resources. Please complete the barcode application to request access. If you are not a licensed health professional in Oregon—and you aren't affiliated with OHSU—you may not have access. The OHSU Library's license agreements with publishers restrict access to OHSU-affiliated users only and prevent us from charging for access. To purchase access to an electronic resource, contact the publisher or vendor directly.
Using electronic resources
Q. I am collaborating with a researcher who isn't affiliated with OHSU. May I share my login credentials with him/her?
A. No. You may not, under any circumstances, share access information (library barcode, username/password, etc.) with another user, whether or not that user is authorized for access. Doing so violates OHSU Policy 11-20-010, Acceptable Use of Computing and Telecommunications Resources and may result in the violator losing library privileges and/or being subject to discipline by OHSU.
Q. The library's off-campus server is blocking me for excessive downloading, but I don't think I did anything wrong. Whom do I contact to resolve this issue?
A. Please e-mail liboff@ohsu.edu, providing the name and URL of the resource you were using and information on what you were doing when you received the error message. A member of the library staff will assist you.
Q. I want to harvest data for a noncommercial purpose. Can I do that?
A. In general, automatic downloading or harvesting of information from licensed electronic resources is prohibited. However, depending on the nature of your project and the resource(s) you wish to access, it may be possible to obtain permission. Please e-mail liboff@ohsu.edu, providing details about what you wish to harvest and what you plan to do with the information, and a member of the library staff will assist you.
Q. May I use information retrieved from the library's electronic resources to support a for-profit business or other enterprise?
A. Generally, no. Most license restrictions prohibit all commercial use, limiting use to noncommercial educational, scholarly, and research purposes only. Licensing terms for electronic resources are noted in the Terms of Use button found on each title's catalog record. Click on the button for more details.
Q. I want to put material from an electronic resource on reserve for my course. May I do that?
A. Materials from the library's collection may be posted on a Learning Management System (such as ERes or Sakai) from OHSU Library's collections as long as licensing or copyright terms are met.
Licensing terms for electronic resources are noted in the Terms of Use button found on each title's catalog record. Click on the button for more details.
Your use of material may be covered under the Fair Use section of U.S. copyright law. The library maintains a number of links that will walk you through the decision-making process at http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/library/services/copyright/ohsu.cfm.
Technical Issues
Q. After I log in, I get a security warning indicating that I am about to be redirected to a connection that is not secure. Should I be concerned?
A. No, just click Yes to continue. EZProxy is set up to use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt your login, protecting it from hackers. Once you successfully log in, EZProxy connects you with the resource you selected, which in most cases does not use SSL technology. Your browser then warns you that the site you are being sent to is not using this technology.
Q. How can I avoid having to type in my barcode every time I log in?
A. If you use Internet Explorer, you can use its Autocomplete feature to remember your barcode and enter it when you start to type it. The Auto Form Fill feature in Firefox will do the same thing.
Q. Can I use Google Web Accelerator with the library's electronic resources?
A. Not always. In some cases, Google Web Accelerator causes the electronic resource to see a Google IP address rather than the IP address of your workstation. Electronic resources use your IP address to determine whether or not you belong to OHSU and are therefore entitled to access. If Google Web Accelerator causes the resource to see Google's IP address rather than your own, you will be denied access. We recommend that you disable Google Web Accelerator when accessing library resources electronically, especially if you are denied access to a resource.
