Access from Home

Access from home, referred to as Remote Access is allowed under the licensing agreement with the vendors that provide these resources.

Until remote access is setup at the request of each organization, IP authentication from a workstation at the member location is the only access.

Staff from a MOREnet Member organization can contact MOREnet Technical Support at help@more.net or (800) 509-6673 with any questions about the online resources including assistance with remote access.

Remote Access Policies

Remote access to EBSCOhost, ProQuest and LearningExpress databases by an eligible MOREnet member’s registered/authorized staff, students and patrons is permitted.

When delivering remote access to these online resources, there must be an appropriate level of care that restricts use to current staff, students and patrons. Therefore it is expected that organizations will employ the appropriate procedures, which may include:

  • Authorization keys to proxies and Web servers are periodically updated for those who are currently associated with the institution.
  • User IDs and passwords are not posted on public webpages, publicly accessible discussion lists and other venues open to the Internet.
  • Passwords in simple ID and password methods are changed when staff/faculty rosters change.

Remote Access Methods

Please do not hesitate to contact MOREnet Technical Support at help@more.net to discuss what option is best for you.

Solutions include user authentication at your organization’s gateway (proxy server, referring URL authentication) or at the vendor’s gateway (patterned ID authentication, simple user name and password authentication). Other methods of remote authentication, such as Shibboleth, Scripting (RPAS), etc., may be available for one or more of these databases.

Proxy Server

Required:* *Institutional proxy server, which authenticates patrons, and seamlessly uses its own IP address to authenticate through to online resource vendors.

  • Authentication by proxy server can fit into a larger plan of access to internal organizational resources and requires little set-up and maintenance to employ. The IP address of the proxy should fall within the ranges assigned by MOREnet or fall within a third-party vendor’s IP range which has been registered with MOREnet. Often the only server modification needed for implementation may be to enter online resource domains to the DNS exclusion list and to allow passage and set of browser cookies.
  • Be aware that some proxy and filtering services force traffic to be rerouted through third party servers, which are outside MOREnet’s networks. This can cause rejection of the proxy’s IP authentication. These third party servers may be shared with many different customers and authenticate with a common IP address. These server IPs cannot be added to the filter list; however, there may be a work-around offered by the proxy’s vendor. If no such work-around exists, benefits of proxy server remote authentication may have to be abandoned and another authentication method sought.

Referring URL Authentication

Required: A Web server or OPAC that can authenticate a patron to a secure internal webpage.

  • Referring URL Authentication allows a specific internal webpage URL to be registered with one of the database vendors including EBSCO,  LearningExpress and ProQuest.
  • Each vendor supplies a special URL in return to be used as a link on the internal webpage. Authentication to the online resource is achieved after initial authorization at the Web server or OPAC through link recognition at the online resource vendor.
  • This method requires little set up and maintenance. Your site controls all authentication restrictions. Since the link is not tied to the server IP address, the server can be migrated or moved to an alternate IP with no loss in the authentication method. If the URL structure is altered, the registered link will need to be altered with the vendors.

To request access by referring URL, please provide the following information:

  • Institution Name
  • Referring URL
  • Dummy Username/Password (to allow us to test the authentication site)

Please contact MOREnet Technical Support to set up Referring URL Authentication. Have the URL for the secured internal webpage available when you call. Contact your server software vendor with any questions about location or structure of your internal webpage or the set up of authentication on your Web server or OPAC. 

Patterned ID Authentication (also known as barcode and library card authentication)

Required: All patrons must have an ID number or library card number that:

  • Falls in an identifiable fixed range of characters (letters and numbers).
  • Includes some unchanging characters (or alternately, choose some unchanging variables that will be added to the number).
  • Are not based on patron social security numbers.
  • Are at least five characters in length.
  • Include numbers and letters, but not special characters.

Patterned ID Authentication allows registration of a pattern or patterns at EBSCO and Proquest. The vendor provides a URL for the link. Authentication inside the institution and remote authentication can be handled with one URL; the vendor will recognize if the request for access is coming from a registered IP, or an unregistered computer. The patron is prompted to provide his or her ID number, and if that ID number fits within the parameters, the patron will be authenticated. This method requires set up of an additional publicly accessible page on a website for patrons to access from outside the institution (or alternate distribution of URLs for outside use).

Please contact MOREnet Technical Support to set up Patterned ID Authentication. Have the character ranges identified and available when you call.

Patterned ID/Codabars (also known as barcode or library card authentication) – LearningExpress

From outside the organization, when patrons visit the https://www.learningexpresslibrary.com site directly (not through the organization URL), they can gain access to LearningExpress Library site with a codabar. The LearningExpress platform uses the National Codabar System, so patrons would need to use their library card number or ID number with digits 2-5 representing a fixed code. The string can be 14 digits or less and begin with an alpha.

We must know the total number of characters for the codabar. For example, 12345 with a 9-digit string (14-digit card number) is different from 12345 with a 7-digit string (12-digit card number).
The minimum and maximums are as follows:

  • Fixed numbers
    • Min: 2
    • Max: 5
  • String total
    • Min: 3
    • Max: 14

To request your Codabar, please provide the following information:

  • Institution Name
  • Common Numbers in Codabars (only first character can be a letter)
  • Total number of digits in string (maximum of 14 total)

Username/Password

Required: A very limited group of staff or faculty who need online resource access.

  • Simple User ID and password is the least desirable of all the remote access methods because controlling access to the resources is difficult. Every effort to restrict use must be made. The ID and password must not be posted publicly.
  • Each vendor supplies a single user ID and password. Use of the default URL from outside the institution will bring up the an ID and password prompt screen.

Please contact MOREnet Technical Support to begin the process of setting up simple User ID and password authentication

Username/Password – LearningExpress

  • Users who create a username and password from within an eligible MOREnet member organization may then use that same username and password to access LearningExpress from any location.

Other Options

Various other alternatives exist with each vendor. EBSCO permits Patron Files (uploaded individual usernames and passwords), Cookie (this will set a cookie in the local drive indefinitely. Use of this method is discouraged), Shibboleth and HTTPS (secure access). Generally we recommend that users create their account from within a MOREnet member organization. They should then be able to use that same login remotely. If remote access is desired the following methods are available, however the user will still need to create their own account at home.

For additional assistance or to submit your request for remote access please contact MOREnet Technical Support at help@more.net.