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Having Difficulties Accessing Research Databases?
If you are having difficulties accessing research databases or e-journals from computers that
are not in the library, read through this guide. It may help you determine the source of the problem.
Are you off-campus?
If you are using a computer that is not connected to the campus network, you will need to set up
your machine for off-campus access.
Our database providers authenticate based on IP address, so you will have to use either the
proxy server or the
campus VPN.
Are you logged into AOL, Compuserve, MSN, or a similar service?
Logging into an account with an internet provider such as AOL will prevent on-campus users from
being able to access our databases because
they sometimes assign a temporary IP address to your machine. We recommend that you log off
of these accounts while you are doing your research.
Are you logged into an instant messenger?
Instant messenger software such as AIM and similar programs sometimes interfere with the proxy
server. They can also prevent on-campus users from being able to access our databases because
they sometimes assign a temporary IP address to your machine. We recommend that you log off
of your instant messenger while you are doing your research.
Are you using a web accelerator?
Web accelerators can cause several problems for on-campus and off-campus users. First, they
sometimes change your IP address so that you no-longer display a UCSB IP address when you
try to access research databases. Second, they sometimes trigger our vendor's "excessive downloading"
thresholds. This can sometimes cause problems because vendors will block access to their server
from that IP.
We recommend that you turn off your web accelerator when you do research. Please do not use it
in conjunction with the proxy server or the VPN. If vendors block those IP addresses it will affect
all off-campus users.
Are you using an anonymizer?
All of our subscription databases authenticate using IP addresses. If you are running an
anonymizer to hide your IP address, they will not recognize you as a subscriber and will
deny you access to the research databases.
Other Issues?
The above information covers the majority of issues reported by users. If you are experiencing
other problems when trying to access our subscription databases, please send a detailed
e-mail describing the problem to webmaster@library.ucsb.edu.
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