Return to the Library Homepage:
Contact the BHSU Librarians:
library@bhsu.edu
The library subscribes to a number of online databases and electronic resources in order assist students and staff in their research. These electronic resources grant access to academic journals, ebooks, newspaper articles, streaming videos, citation and abstract databases, book reviews, magazine articles and so much more! To access these electronic resources, you can either use the A-Z database list or the libraries catalog, Primo.
While access to these resources is often seamless, you can occasionally encounter technical issues. This guide is intended to assist you in troubleshooting these issues.
Patrons affiliated with BHSU have remote and on campus access to all of the libraries subscribed electronic resources. When accessing electronic resources, many of them will prompt you to authenticate with your BHSU email. When accessing a proxied database off of the A-Z database list or Primo you will be redirected to the BHSU single sign on page, if you are not already signed in. After signing in with your email, you are authenticated and will be granted access to the electronic resource. If you don't remember your BHSU email or password you will have to contact the IT help desk.
While the authentication process is typically straight forward, you can encounter issues if your device needs to re-authenticate but doesn't prompt you. This usually happens if you have not rebooted your device in a while or if you switch networks. For example, if you are working on campus and then take your device home and connect to your home network, this can sometimes cause an authentication/access issue. In these cases, the easiest troubleshooting solutions are to refresh your browser, use a different browser or clear the cache of your browser. For example, if you are using Google Chrome and can't access an electronic resource, try switching to Microsoft Edge or Safari.
Clearing the cache of your browser will often fix any access/authentication issues and is a recommended practice if you frequently use electronic resources. If clearing the cache does not fix your issue, you can also try deleting your browsers cookies. The option to delete cookies/cache is generally found in a browsers settings under the delete browsing data option. It is best to close a browser and reopen it after clearing the cache/cookies. Completing this process will force you to authenticate via your BSHU email again.
For questions on authentication/troubleshooting electronic resources contact daniel.thomas@bhsu.edu
Occasionally, a vendor's Cloudflare security will flag an IP address and prevent access. If you a encounter a Cloudflare issue while accessing an electronic resource via Primo or the A-Z list, contact Dan Thomas at daniel.thomas@bhsu.edu so he can contact the vendor and resolve the issue.
While rare, you may also encounter an issue with a network's web filter blocking access to an electronic resource. If you encounter this while on the BHSU Campus, please contact Dan Thomas at daniel.thomas@bhsu.edu so he can work to get access restored. See image below for an example of a web filter issue.
If you use the libraries catalog, Primo, to search our electronic resources, you should not encounter any material we don't have access to. However, if you are searching within a few databases there is a chance you could encounter material the library does not subscribe too. One way to avoid this issue is to facet to only content you have access, if that is an option. See the screenshot below for an example. If you are authenticated and come across material stating that the library does not subscribe to this content, that is generally accurate. However, if you are unsure or believe the library should have access to this content, contact Dan Thomas at daniel.thomas@bhsu.edu to clarify.
