Cover Story
In His Own Words: Carey Hatch
Assistant Provost for Library and Information Services

Features
SUNY Selects Ex Libris

SUNYConnect Information Literacy Course Chosen

SLN Students Access SUNYConnect Databases

SUNYConnect -the-Dots

How to Contact Us

Linkable Links

Link to the OLIS Committees List

SLN students now have access to the SUNYConnect databases from home. Here is the announcement that was distributed via the SUNYLA e-mail list -

 

Dear SUNY Librarians,

 

Remote access to electronic library resources is a difficult problem with which our libraries struggle. During the summer, the staff of the Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) and the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) collaborated to find a way for students enrolled in SLN courses to access a core set of electronic resources. This effort was possible only because the Lotus Notes environment employed by SLN is a secure environment requiring user authentication, and because a core set of electronic resources is already available through the SUNYConnect initiative. You can see what products are currently available through SUNYConnect by pointing to the OLIS Web site:

 

http://olis.sysadm.suny.edu/opacs/subscriptions.asp

(this is not the page used by SLN).

 

SLN students now have remote access to the SUNYConnect electronic resources. They access the SUNYConnect resources from both SUNY and non-SUNY Internet protocol (IP) addresses using a Web page created by SLN and OLIS. This page is hosted on an SLN Web server. To access this page they must first login to their SLN account and then go to the Commons area. The page does refer students to their campus library for additional resources and provides links to the OLIS list of SUNY library OPACS and the SUNYLA list of library Web sites.

 

Please be aware that the usage statistics for SLN students using SUNYConnect electronic resources through the SLN access page will be attributed to the OLIS subscription accounts and not to the accounts of the students' campus libraries.

 

To visit the general SLN Web site, point to http://sln.suny.edu/

 

The OLIS homepage is located at http://olis.sysadm.suny.edu

 

Thanks very much,

Laura K. Murray

SUNY Office of Library and Information Services

 

It should also be noted that faculty involved with SLN have remote access to SUNYConnect databases. SLN faculty can access the databases via their "SLN Faculty Center."

 

SLN expects to reach the 10,000 student threshold soon. While a small number in comparison to the total SUNY student population, SLN students have some special library services needs. This combined with the chance to implement remote access within the Lotus Notes database made for a good fit.

 

Remote access (via non-SUNY internet connections) to SUNYConnect databases is, of course, an ongoing need. Many SUNY libraries provide for this off-campus access to their database offerings. (SLN students are urged to check with their "local" SUNY libraries about this. Such students may very well be able to utilize significantly more databases via that library, then through the SLN web site.) The Information Technology Exchange Center (ITEC) has been investigating a SUNY-wide solution for this remote database access and user authentication issue. Much of the technical requirements are known and manageable. Budgetary, political and cultural restraints to establishing SUNY-wide authentication services are more problematic, however. The OLIS continues to make the argument of the critical importance of such services to SUNY System Administration. Future successes for SUNYConnect depend upon additional progress in this area.