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Getting Help
Extensive online support information may be found on the NetLibrary Web site,
including a form for personalized customer support. Please provide
a detailed description of the problem you are experiencing.
NetLibrary Authentication Requirements
Authentication is a means by which NetLibrary matches library users with the eBook
collections of their libraries. There are two ways that users can authenticate to
these collections: IP address (Internet Protocol address) and/or a secure Referring
URL (Uniform Resource Locator). In order to minimize confusion, the library contact
should consult with their technical IT staff to decide the best authentication method
to use.
IP Authentication
Every computer connected to the Internet has an IP address. This IP address can be
detected by the NetLibrary Web site. Your library can give access to its eBook
collection by informing NetLibrary of the IP address (or range of addresses) used
in your network. Please use the following guidelines when submitting your
registration information to NetLibrary:
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You will need to provide NetLibrary with the IP addresses for all computers that
will need to access your eBook Collection. Please include branch, campus and remote
site IP addresses as well.
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If you are using a proxy server or firewall to access the Internet, you will need
to provide NetLibrary with each of these IP addresses. These devices usually expose
only one IP address to the Internet.
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IP address ranges entered must be in the following format: x.x.x.x (where "x" is a
numeric value from 1 to 254). If a value is left blank then the range between 1 and
254 is assumed in its place. For example; 192.168.34. would include the following
range: 192.168.34.1 - 192.168.34.254. Please include the dot at the end of the range.
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Private IP addresses that begin with 10.x.x.x, 172.16.0-31.x, and 192.168.x.x are
not valid on the Internet, and thus should not be provided to NetLibrary.
Once these IP addresses have been entered into the NetLibrary system, all computers
with matching IP addresses will have access to the library's eBook collection.
Referring URL
Referring URL is a method of authentication whereby your library places a hyperlink
to www.netlibrary.com on your Web site. When working in the library, users will be
forwarded to the NetLibrary Web site when they click on this link. For remote users,
this URL also can serve as a password-protected gateway to your NetLibrary collection.
Upon arrival at the site, NetLibrary can read the referring URL field (automatically
embedded in the request) and authenticate that user or patron to the proper library
and eBook collection. This method of authentication is usually preferable if you do
not have unique IP addresses or if you wish to facilitate access for your remote users.
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The referring URL can either be the host and domain name, or an entire URL string.
For example, we can authenticate www.msn.com or
www.msn.com/links/library/ebooks.
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If the library wishes to maintain strong control over who gets access to the
eBook collection, the link to the www.netlibrary.com Web site should only be
displayed after the user or patron has been identified and authenticated by the
library's Web site.
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Referring URL is sometimes (depending on the browser and version) not passed on
when coming from a secure page. For simplicity, all links to NetLibrary should
come from a non-secure page. Secure pages use an https:// prefix instead
of an http:// prefix, such as https://www.msn.com.
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You may set up your online catalog to be recognized as a referring URL. Every
NetLibrary MARC record has an 856 field to hold the static URL for the NetLibrary
bibliographic page, allowing easy access to eBooks from the OPAC. Java-based OPAC
systems have additional requirements in order to access the eBook collection. (For
more information contact your Account Representative.)
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Referring URL is not passed through some Java links to NetLibrary. At this time,
Java should not be used in the link to NetLibrary.
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Referring URL will take precedence over IP authentication. If patrons are
authenticating via referring URL at your library Web page and are IP authenticated
on a computer at another library, they will end up being affiliated to the
referring URL library.
Special Notes
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As stated above, the customer or library site can control access to its collection
at NetLibrary by limiting where the link to NetLibrary resides. For instance, the
library could choose to set the referring URLs differently on different Web pages,
thus allowing it to authenticate different groups of people.
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For complex networking configurations, both IP and referring URL authentication can
be used in conjunction to identify a particular NetLibrary customer.
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Any user or patron, regardless of authentication type, who logs in with a
NetLibrary username and password will authenticate to the library where the
username and password were originally created.
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A firewall is a security device used to safeguard your network from the Internet
or some other network. It is the firewall's job to inspect incoming/outgoing data
and make certain that it complies with the rules established by the firewall's
administrator. Information that does not correspond to the rules is blocked from
entering, or exiting the firewall. You may need to notify your network
administrator to add www.netlibrary.com as an acceptable source of information.
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A proxy server is separate from a firewall, but works in conjunction with it to
eliminate unauthorized access to your network, and the Internet. A proxy server's
purpose is usually to filter outgoing traffic, improve Internet response time and
provide security from the Internet. It, like the firewall, usually uses a single
IP address to converse with Web sites on the Internet.
If you have any additional questions regarding these authentication options for your
library, please contact your Account Representative by calling 800-413-4557.
Remote Access
NetLibrary is able to work with a library's existing RPA (Remote Patron Authentication)
or proxy server system to provide remote access. For libraries that do not have RPAs,
remote users may access NetLibrary using their NetLibrary user accounts that have been
established in the library/on campus.
To create a username and password, users click on the "Create a Free Account" link
while at an authenticated library terminal or through a proxy server and/or secure
referring URL that NetLibrary recognizes. NetLibrary will then associate your patrons
with your collections, allowing them access to your titles from any location.
eBook Checkout Period
There is no checkout period. Users must remain active in the eBook (clicking) at least
once every fifteen minutes. If there is no activity in fifteen minutes, the eBook will time out.
The publicly accessible eBooks (3,405 titles) have unlimited access and never need
to be checked out.