New to EZproxy?

New to EZproxy?

What is EZproxy?

EZproxy provides secure remote access to e-resources. Users authenticate and then they can access licensed online resources from off-campus.
     
PALS hosts and supports EZproxy for about 40 libraries in Minnesota. Most use LDAP authentication.

What is Needed?

Remember that there are three parts needed for a database to work with the proxy:
  1. A current stanza for the vendor in your config.txt file (See the official stanzas here)
  2. The vendor needs your proxy prefix and proxy IP address on their end
  3. A correctly constructed link

Once EZproxy is set up, construct your links by putting your proxy prefix in front of the database link. Your proxy prefix will look something like this: https://testproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=

A good database link will look something like this: https://testproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=rzh

If you are sharing specific content such as an article or video, do not just grab the URL from the address bar at the top of your browser. Look for a link in an area marked Share. It might also be called permalink or persistent link.

Remember that open access resources do not need to be proxied, so you would not include the proxy prefix for open access resources.

If you haven't yet updated your EZproxy links to HTTPS, please update them. Remember that there are two parts to your links and both should be HTTPS:
  1. The proxy prefix - https://testproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=
  2. The link to the database - https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=rzh

ELM Databases

We have access to a number of databases in Minnesota from Minitex. View set up information here.

Also, it can be useful to check what links they are using here. Be sure to use your links with your proxy prefix so that you get the usage data.

Tips for New Staff

  1. If you add a new database vendor, please tell us via a ticket, so we can add the stanza for you. If you drop a database vendor, it is good to remove the stanza as well.
  2. Being sure your links are right is probably your first priority. When links change, remember to update them everywhere, including your website, Primo, research guides, D2L, etc.
  3. If you do not have the information to log in to the Admin interface of EZproxy, please put in a ticket.
  4. For most user login problems, they need to reset their password and/or they are not entering the right password. (Learn more about troubleshooting user problems here.)

Official Documentation from OCLC

  1. Introduction
  2. Starting point URLs and config.txt
  3. Introduction to database stanza directives
  4. The current database stanzas

    • Related Articles

    • EZproxy Statistics

      PALS implemented ReadMETRICS (also known as ezmetrics) and monthly report emails began June 2022 for our PALS-hosted institutions. There are also reports in July and January containing six months of data. For most of our PALS-hosted institutions, ...

    • EZproxy - Need Help?

      The following articles are available: New to EZproxy? EZproxy - Troubleshooting User Problems Recap on the Script for StarID Failures Making EZproxy Configuration Updates EZproxy Login Pages EZproxy Statistics Browser Changes and Remote Access Issues ...

    • EZproxy Login Pages

      We generally recommend that people keep these login pages simple. See the login page for Hennepin Technical College here. It is possible to get fancy if you want and you have people with HTML and CSS skills (the PALS office does not provide this ...

    • EZproxy - Troubleshooting User Problems

      What can I tell about user errors in my EZproxy Admin interface? First, from the main screen, choose View Audit Events - Look up the username here with a reasonable timeframe such as 30 days. Example screenshot: You might see that: They have logged ...