Proxy Service Home Page

Proxy Server Setup Instructions

Frequently Asked Questions

Known Service Problems
(Macintosh users, IE 4 or IE 5 users please read)

Troubleshooting Checklist

Resources that are unavailable through the Proxy Server

Proxy Server Problem Report Form

To enhance the security of personal information in the Library's patron database, anything to do with Social Security Numbers is gradually being removed. This process begins on August 25, 2005 and will continue as new patron records are added to the database.

As a result, users of what has been traditionally known as the "SSN-Authenticating Proxy Service" will no longer be able to use the last four digits of their Social Security Number to authenticate to the proxy service. In place of that, users will need to use a four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number) consisting of their birth month and day in MMDD format. That is, you will use your Library Card Number as your username and the MMDD component of your birthdate as your password when authenticating to the proxy service.

For example, if your birthday is June 3, you should use 0603 as the PIN. If your birthday is November 23, your PIN will be 1123.

Thus, if you currently use the last four digits of your SSN as your password to access the proxy service, that will likely fail at some point on or after August 25. At that point, please start using the PIN consisting of the MMDD component of your birthdate.

Please note that Visiting Scholars and other users who already have a custom PIN password will not be affected by this change; they should continue to use the PIN which they have already established at the Privileges Desk.

Please also note that, as a result of this change, the service formerly known as the "SSN-Authenticating Proxy Service" will now be called the "PIN-Authenticating Proxy Service". We will be changing our online documentation to reflect this change as time permits.

If you encounter any problems with this change, or if you are unsure of what your PIN should be, please visit or otherwise contact the Privileges Desk in Doe Library (phone 510-642-3403; email privdesk@library.berkeley.edu). Thank you for your patience, and please forgive the suddenness of this change.

--Library Systems Office, UC Berkeley, August 17, 2005.