Remote Access
When the library subscribes to a database or an electronic journal, we must sign a license agreement with the vendor of that resource. The agreements provide that content can be served to any computer connected to the WesternU Network, but that remote access via a proxy server may be granted to authorized users only. “Authorized users” are WesternU’s currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff.
The Library’s license agreements with vendors of electronic resources also stipulate that it is the responsibility of individual users to ensure that electronic resources are used for personal and/or educational non-commercial purposes without systematically downloading, printing, distributing, retaining substantial portions, or sharing of password information.
Accessing E-Resources from off-campus
2. Select a resource or database
3. You will be directed to log in through OpenAthens or EZProxy.
OpenAthens: Follow the prompts to log in with your WesternU credentials. Refer to the guide for detailed instructions.
EZProxy: Log in with your WesternU username and password.
Troubleshooting Common Proxy Issues
WesternU Students, Faculty, and Staff:
- Make sure you are not entering the “@westernu.edu” part of your email in the username.
- You may be entering the wrong password. To test this, try logging into ILLiad. If you cannot successfully log in, you may need to reset your password.
- If these steps don’t resolve the issue, contact us at reference@westernu.edu or 909-469-5323
Clinical Faculty:
If you have an existing account, contact reference@westernu.edu.
Are you using the library’s Electronic Resources web page as your starting point for access?
Each subscription E-Journal or Database is linked to our Electronic Resources page using a special URL that routes you through the proxy server. If you directly type in a web site address into your browser, you will not be asked for a proxy server password and will not have permission to use the resource.
This error happens after you already entered in your proxy password and were granted access to the database you wish to search. You are trying to access a full-text article within the database when the error message “Your institution does not have access” comes up.
Solution:
In some instances, the library subscribes to only a portion of the full-text material within a database. An example is ScienceDirect. ScienceDirect offers 23 full-text subject collections. Our institution subscribes to 6 subject collections.
One way to check if the library has an electronic subscription to a journal is to use the E-Journal/E-Book search available on the library’s Electronic Resources webpage.
Please e-mail the following information to reference@westernu.edu so we can troubleshoot the issue.
- Copy and paste or screenshot the error message, if any, into the email.
- What database and/or article are you trying to access?
- What Internet browser and version number are you using?