InCommon Library Services

[David Kennedy <>]

>> 
>> 3) if the user is coming from a specified set of IP address ranges,
send 
>> the user directly to the resource
>> 
>
> From what I have heard, correctly configuring EZProxy for that case
can 
>actually be problematic.
>
>One of my co-workers recently pointed out the following problem. His
>town library uses EZProxy, as does MIT. His town library system prompts
>him for his library card number. From home, via the town library, he
>gets access to some material that MIT does not license. When he is
on 
>campus, he goes to the town library URL and enters his library card
>number. However, he ends up with the same access that he would have
if 
>he had started off at the MIT Library site. In other words, while on
>campus there are actually some resources that he cannot access.
>
> From home, he can access all of the resources that MIT provides access
>to, because he authenticates to the MIT Library system using a certificate.

Paul, I am having a little difficulty understanding
your scenario.  Are
MIT and town library sharing the same ezproxy instance?




>An increasing number of people in our campus populations use mobile
>devices that have wide area networking enabled, and hence are using
an 
>external carrier such as AT&T or Verizon. At what point do we say
that 
>access policy based on an IP address range is a waste of time and 
>resources?

When a better and complete solution is available that allows guest users
in a campus library access to licensed resources without
needing to 
provide any credentials.  The ezproxy/shib combo
gets us close to 
that solution.


-----
David Kennedy
Systems Programmer
Perkins Library, Duke University
(919) 613-6831