LIBRARY EZPROXY SERVICE HELP

 

This page is for users who are interested to know more about EZproxy and if they should encounter technical problems accessing our subscribed e-resources.

1. What is the library EZproxy service?
2. What are the technical requirements to use this library EZproxy service?
3. How do I access the library EZproxy service?
4. I have installed a personal firewall or anti-virus software and cannot access the library EZproxy service.
5. How do I login?
6. Why do I need to authenticate again?
7. Why do I need to authenticate again when I close all the browser windows?
8. Why the full text@NTU Library that I created do not work?
9. How to enable cookies in the browser?
10. How much can I download from e-resources subscribed by the Library?
11. What is considered violation?
12. I cannot access my email alerts from the database publishers/vendors.
13. Error message - 'Digital Library Page'
14. What should I do if I am unable to access full text of articles via the links in PDF documents?
15. Contact information
   
 

Answers

1.

What is the library EZproxy service?

  The Library EZproxy service is an innovative service implemented in 2005 to allow authorized users to access IP-restricted e-resources subscribed by the Library, namely, databases, e-journals and e-books. As the e-resources are licensed to NTU, users are required to use their NTU network userid and password for authentication. NTU Staff and students can access this service when they are on-campus or off-campus  via the library web site at http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/Pages/default.aspx  
2. What are the technical requirements to use the library EZproxy service?
 

The basic requirements are:

  • A PC with access to the Internet
  • A modern web browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.X and above, Netscape 6.X and above, and Firefox 1.0 and above, and with cookies enabled
  • Your network userid and password
  • Other requirements being imposed by the e-resource web sites (for example Javascript)

You can check your web browser configuration by accessing this URL.

3.

How do I access the EZproxy service?

 
  1. Use a web browser to access the library web site http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/Pages/default.aspx for the list of e-resources available, namely databases, e-journals and e-books.
  2. The URL of the e-resources will look like this: http://ezlibproxy1.ntu.edu.sg/login?url=http://www.xxx.yyy.
  3. When you first access the URL, you will be required to authenticate with your network userid and password. This step is not required for access on campus as SSO (single-sign-on) is in place.
  4. Upon successful authentication, the server will provide access to the e-resources available to the user.
  5. The URL of the e-resources will change to this form http://www.example.com.ezlibproxy1.ntu.edu.sg and https://www.example.com.ezlibproxy1.ntu.edu.sg for http and https web sites respectively.
  6. To stop using the library EZproxy service, close the web browser.
4.

I have installed a personal firewall or anti-virus software and cannot access the library EZproxy service.

  Your software may be configured not to accept cookies.  Please change it to allow cookies.
5.

How do I login?

  Enter your NTU Network username and password at the authentication page when you access our electronic resources (databases, e-journals & e-books). Please type staff\<your username> and <your password> (if you are NTU staff) or student\<your username> and <your password> (if you are NTU student).
6.

Why do I need to authenticate again?

  Your session with the library EZproxy service will expire if it is idle for more than 4 hours or you have closed the browser. You need to authenticate to begin a new session.
7.

Why do I need to authenticate again when I close all the browser windows?

  When you close all the browser windows, the session is deemed to be closed. You will need to authenticate again to begin a new session.
8.

Why the full text@NTU Library that I created do not work?

 

Previously some of you may have set up bookmarks or “favourites” in your browser or create HTML pages to link to the e-resources direct. This worked on campus because our database vendors were asked to recognize all IP addresses on campus. With the implementation of Ezproxy, the vendors now recognize only the Library’s proxy IP address. Therefore if you have created link pages and favourites to databases and e-journal titles in your browser, you need to re-bookmark your links as follows:
Go to https://venus.wis.ntu.edu.sg/lib_databases/ (for databases) and http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/collections/Pages/EJournals.aspx (for e-journals), search the database or e-journal title you want and bookmark the URL to your favourites on the browser.

9. How to enable cookies in the browser?
 

Internet Explorer

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, the following is an excerpt from its help file.

To change your privacy settings
1. In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. On the Privacy tab, move the slider up for a higher level of privacy or down for a lower level of privacy.

Select this To specify this
Block all cookies

Cookies from all Web sites will be blocked

Existing cookies on your computer cannot be read by Web sites

High

Cookies from all Web sites that do not have a compact policy (a condensed computer-readable privacy statement) will be blocked

Cookies from all Web sites that use your personally identifiable information without your explicit consent will be blocked

Medium High

Cookies from third-party Web sites that do not have a compact policy (a condensed computer-readable privacy statement) will be blocked

Cookies from third-party Web sites that use your personally identifiable information without your explicit consent will be blocked

Cookies from first-party Web sites that use your personally identifiable information without your implicit consent will be blocked


Medium

Cookies from third-party Web sites that do not have a compact policy (a condensed computer-readable privacy statement) will be blocked

Cookies from third-party Web sites that use your personally identifiable information without your implicit consent will be blocked

Cookies from first-party Web sites that use your personally identifiable information without your implicit consent will be deleted from your computer when you close Internet Explorer

Low

Cookies from third-party Web sites that do not have a compact policy (a condensed computer-readable privacy statement) will be blocked

Cookies from third-party Web sites that use your personally identifiable information without your implicit consent will be deleted from your computer when you close Internet Explorer


Accept all cookies

All cookies will be saved on your computer

Existing cookies on your computer can be read by the Web sites that created them

Notes

  • A first-party Web site is a Web site that you are currently viewing. A third-party Web site is a Web site other than the one you are currently viewing. Third-party Web sites usually provide some content on the Web site you are currently viewing. For example, many sites use advertising from third-party Web sites and those third-party Web sites may use cookies.
  • Some Web sites require cookies; therefore, if you select a setting that does not allow cookies to be saved on your computer, you might not be able to view certain Web sites.
  • When you change your privacy settings, the changes might not affect cookies that are already on your computer. If you want to ensure that all of the cookies on your computer meet your privacy settings, you should delete all of the existing cookies on your computer. When you return to Web sites that previously had saved cookies on your computer, the Web sites that meet your privacy settings will save cookies on your computer again. The Web sites that do not meet your privacy settings will not be allowed to save cookies on your computer, and might not function properly. Some Web sites store your member name and password or other personally identifiable information about you in a cookie; therefore, if you delete all cookies, you might need to re-enter this information the next time you visit the site.
  • Your privacy settings only affect Web sites in the Internet zone.
  • You can also specify custom privacy settings for all Web sites in the Internet zone or for individual Web sites.
  • To import a file containing custom privacy settings, click Import. To import a file, it must be located on your computer. You can download files containing custom privacy settings from privacy organizations and other Web sites on the Internet.

Netscape

If you are using Netscape, the following is an excerpt from its help.

Specifying How Your Browser Should Handle Cookies

You can specify how cookies should be handled by setting your cookie preferences and by using the Cookie Manager.

To change your cookie preferences:
1. Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
2. Under the Privacy & Security category, choose Cookies. (If no subcategories are visible, double-click the category to expand the list.)
3. Click one of the radio buttons:

  • Disable cookies: Choose this to refuse all cookies.
  • Enable cookies for the originating web site only: Choose this if you don't want to accept or return Foreign cookies.?Cookies received through email (when the message contains a web page) are treated as foreign cookies.
  • Enable all cookies: Choose this to permit all web sites to set cookies on your computer and receive them back during subsequent visits. Note: If you select this option, and later choose to reject all cookies, you may still have some older cookies stored on your computer (though no new ones will be set).

4. If you want to be notified when a web site tries to set a cookie, select "Warn me before storing a cookie."

10.

How much can I download from e-resources subscribed by the Library?

 

Use of electronic resources (i.e databases, e-journals, e-books, etc.) subscribed by the Library is governed by license agreements negotiated between the Library and publishers/vendors. Hence downloading of library e-resources varies according to the individual license agreement provided by publishers/vendors.

It is the responsibility of all users to strictly comply with the provisions of Singapore Copyright Act, Chapter 63 related to photocopying of library materials. For the purpose of personal research and private study, the Copyright Law allows individuals to copy a small portion of copyrighted work as long as it is a "fair dealing".

11.

What is considered violation?

 

Massive or systematic downloading of single or multiple copies of abstracts, tables of contents or fulltext documents in print or electronic copies, for example, downloading the entire issue of an e-journal is considered a violation of copyright. For more information on copyright guidelines, please refer to http://www.ntu.edu.sg/library/about/Documents/Library_Handbook_2011-New-2011-10rev-Use(C).pdf

12. I cannot access my email alerts from the database publishers/vendors.
  Please see http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/lib/ezproxy/full_text.htm#install
13. Error message - 'Digital Library Page'
 

When accessing our electronic resources (database, e-journals, e-books, etc), you may be brought to this 'Digital Library' page (https://ezlibproxy1.ntu.edu.sg/menu). If you encounter this, please do the following:

1) Clear cache, close browser and try again.
2) If error still persists, reboot your pc.

Please report this problem to ltd@ntu.edu.sg with the information below.

  • Domain and userid
  • IP address
  • Internet provider: SingNet, Pacific Internet, Starhub, company etc
  • Date and time of error
  • Resource URL
  • Error message
  • Steps to reproduce the error
14. What should I do if I am unable to access full text of articles via the links in PDF documents?
  We advise users to open the file in the HTML format which has no known issues accessing the embedded links.

For example, to access full text of articles subscribed by the NTU Library from the table of contents, please perform the following steps:

1) Click on the “HTML TOC” button instead of the “PDF TOC” button.


2) From the table of contents, click on the link of an article that you are interested to access.


3) Click on one of the links such as HTML, Sectioned HTML or PDF to access the full text of the article that is subscribed by the NTU Library.



15. Contact Information
  For enquiries, please contact ltd@ntu.edu.sg.