Off-Campus Access to Library Resources

What is ...

Shibboleth is a Federated Access technology that lets you login to Library Resources with your AUS username and password.  You can use it without starting on the Library webpage.  If you type in a URL like "jstor.org" in your browser, or find an article searching from Google Scholar, you can still access most of our core resources without finding a "proxied" link.  We've set Shibboleth up with all of the resources in this guide.  Because publishers have implemented this in a variety of ways, we're including instructions for logging into each resource on the pages below.

A few general guidelines.  

1. Look for the phrase "Access through your institution".
2. Look for this icon:
3. If prompted to select a "Federation", look for "United States Higher Education" or "InCommon".  AUS belongs to InCommon.
4. You can usually search for "Sharjah" if there's a search box to find your intsitution to find AUS, but sometimes you need "American University of Sharjah".
5. Logging in through one resource will sometimes allow you to access the other resources described here.  You may have to go through the process of identifying your institution again - Wayfinding or Where Are You From (WAYF), or you may be prompted for your AUS username and password.

You can also use "WAYFless URL's (see the individual pages below) to skip the need to select AUS as your institution.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is Shibboleth replacing the current access method via VPN and EZProxy? 
No, Shibboleth is an additional access method. 

The resource I want to access is not on the list, why? 
Unfortunately not all vendors have Shibboleth authentication set up. Vendors who were able to offer shibboleth authentication, are set up and working. We will continue to monitor and set up Shibboleth authentication for those who support it. 

What is a WAYFless URL that is included on the LibGuide? 
WAYFless URL will take you directly to the AUS login rather than selecting your federation and institution. Once you have logged in, you are automatically redirected back to the resource.

What are the other benefits of Shibboleth? 
There may be occasions when you find a library resource without using the AUS VPN or the  “proxied” link. In these instances, you can login via Shibboleth to gain access.