Library Resources from Off-Campus

My apologies to all the DL students out there who have had to struggle so much with access to library resources this semester! Also, a big thanks and appreciation to those who kept e-mailing and contacting me when it still wasn't working!

Access to PHC library resources from off-campus has always been a bit of an issue, but it has even been more so this semester with all the changes that have been happening.

First, the school moved to a new software system for tracking student records. I don't have access to the system directly, but those who do have praise for how much more user-friendly and flexible it is than the old system.

Second, the move to the new software system forced the college to issue new ID numbers. So now, almost every current student has two ID numbers associated with their record--the number issued under the old system and the number issued in the new software.

On the library side, the library wants to grant access to resources based on who is a current student and needs to authenticate these students. Back in the early days of the college, the library and I.T. worked together to acquire and set-up software on a server to provide some crude authentication and grant access. It has worked well for it's time, but has its security issues and its clunkiness--requiring both e-resources and student records to be maintained in static lists, not directly linked to the student database or the library's list of resources.

With the new class software being deployed, we have an opportunity to address some of these problems. We can take advantage of the new class software to handle the authentication of the current students, but we still have to maintain a static list of resources.

My next envisioned step is to be able to allow off-campus students to use the Library's E-Resources pages, just like on-campus students do. They'll be able to view the list by category or alphabetically, the resource links will have a description of the resource right there, and useful free and restricted access resource are all together on one page. If the off-campus student wants to use a restricted resource, he clicks on the link, responds to the prompt for his class portal login and he can start searching the restricted resource.

And the people caught in the cross-currents of all these changes? In the student database, some students have errors in their records--errors in the conversion or failure to implement the necessary new procedures to keep student records current. That can affect whether they get added to the static list of students that is consulted by the library access resource. Maybe they are on the list, but they weren't informed of their newly issued ID number, so that don't have what it takes to complete authentication. And of course, the confusion isn't helped by the fact that sometimes you can access a resource using the new pages in the class portal software, but sometimes you have to use the old library access login.

So please continue be patient with us! I.T. is actively working with the library to get past these problems of change and make the use of library resources from off-campus as seamless as we can. And yes, we do appreciate notification when something isn't working for you and feedback for how we can continue to improve access.