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Proxy Service Home Page
ANNOUNCEMENTS Nov. 29, 2006: Nov. 29, 2006: Jan. 23, 2004:
The proxy server now rejects requests for pages not recognized by the
automatic proxy configuration script, proxy.pac. See
Proxy Servers Reject Unauthorized Content
for further information.
Dec. 08, 2003:
A Browser Configuration
Check utility can now assist you in determining whether your browser is configured
correctly for the Library's Proxy Service.
Dec. 01, 2003:
IS&T's Workstation Support Group has provided two
Browser Configuration Installer Programs
for certain specific platforms.
Oct. 15, 2003: Article on the Library's Proxy Service in Fall, 2003 issue of
IS&T's Berkeley Computing and Communications.
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UC Berkeley Library Proxy Server Service The UC Berkeley Library Proxy Server allows authorized UC Berkeley users to gain remote access to electronic resources licensed by the UC Berkeley Library.
You need to use the proxy service if you wish to access the Library's licensed electronic resources from a computer that is not connected to the UC Berkeley campus network. For details about what it does, see How the Proxy Service Works. If your computer connects to the internet via a third party Internet Service Provider (such as AOL, Earthlink, Comcast or SBC) via DSL, cable-moden, ISDN, or regular dial-up modem, then you must use the proxy service to access the Library's licensed electronic resources. You do not need to use the proxy server if:
Eligibility and Conditions of Use Whenever the Library subscribes to an electronic database or an electronic journal, it must sign a license agreement with the vendor of that resource. Such agreements generally provide that vendors serve their content freely to any computer connected to the UC Berkeley network, but that remote (viz., off-campus) access via a proxy server may be granted to authorized users only. "Authorized users" include current UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff. For details, see Eligibility for Use of the Library's Proxy Service. The Library's license agreements with vendors of electronic resources typically 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, or retaining substantial portions. For more information, see Conditions of Use and Licensing Restrictions for Electronic Resources. Two Forms of Proxy Server Authentication: PIN and CalNet The Library's license agreements with the vendors of electronic resources generally permit us to provide off-campus access to authorized users only. Therefore, it is essential that the proxy server must authenticate the prospective user, that is, must determine with reasonable certainty that the user requesting the proxy service is who she or he says she is, and that she is eligible to use the proxy service. Since the Library's first proxy server went public in March 2000, patrons have been able to authenticate to the proxy service using their Library ID and a four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number). This method of authentication continues to be available. By default, your PIN is set to be your date of birth in MMDD format. As of April 2002, Library patrons can also use their CalNet ID and passphrase to authenticate to the proxy server. The CalNet ID is the unique campus-wide identifier assigned to every UC Berkeley student and employee. For students, the CalNet ID is by default the Student ID number; for faculty and staff, the CalNet ID is by default the Employee ID number. Campus employees are able to select their own "user-friendly" designation as their CalNet ID in place of the Employee ID; such a self-selected CalNet ID is currently not available to students. Visiting Scholars and the Proxy Service Eligible visiting scholars and postdocs to whom the campus has assigned CalNet ID's may now use either the CalNet-authenticating proxy server or the PIN-authenticating proxy server, just like regular students or faculty. Automatic Proxy Configuration and Supported Browsers The Library requests users who wish to take advantage of the proxy service to use only browsers that support a feature called Automatic Proxy Configuration. Currently MS Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Netscape offer this feature for machines running on a Windows platform; and only Mozilla and Netscape on the Macintosh. The browser distributed for use with AOL is a customized version of MS Internet Explorer which does not support Automatic Proxy Configuration. AOL users should therefore download a clean copy of Internet Explorer from Microsoft or use either Mozilla or Netscape to access the Library's proxy service. For details, see How Automatic Proxy Configuration Works. First, decide whether to use CalNet authentication or PIN authentication. These services provide equal access to the Library's licensed electronic resources and differ only in the manner of authentication. Next, configure your browser to use the proxy service of your choice by following the Proxy Setup Instructions. You should only need to do this once, as the browser will continue to use the proxy service for Library resources during all subsequent browser sessions, or until you intentionally remove the proxy server configuration from your browser. When during a given browser session you first request one of the Library's licensed resources, the proxy server will prompt you to authenticate by entering the username and password appropriate to the form of authentication (either CalNet or PIN) you have chosen. Generally once you have authenticated, the proxy server will not require you to authenticate again until you close your current browser session and begin a new one, or until 24 hours have elapsed. Occasionally during periods of heavy load, the proxy server may hand your session to a backup server which will require you to authenticate, but that session itself should persist for 24 hours before requiring further authentication. An Alternative to the Proxy Service: The Campus' Virtual Private Network (VPN) It sometimes happens that, for one reason or another, a user's browser is unable to take advantage of the Library's proxy service. There is now an alternative method by which a user can gain access to the Library's licensed electronic resources from off-campus locations. Since the latter part of 2005, the campus' Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) unit has provided a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service that can be used to access our licensed electronic journals and databases. Using this service requires that you install a VPN client software on your computer. Although this service is provided and supported by IS&T, the Library's website publishes some useful information on using the campus VPN. Important Note: If you've configured a publicly available machine at another institution for access to UCB's proxy server, make sure to quit your browser when you're finished using the online resources so your privileges aren't misused by someone else. You can quit by either closing all open browser windows or clicking on the File > Exit or the File > Close menu. Copyright (C) 1996-2006 by The Library, University of California, Berkeley. All rights reserved.
Document maintained on server: http://proxy.lib.berkeley.edu/ Last updated 11/29/2006. webmaster@proxy.lib.berkeley.edu |