Service Provider FAQs

How can I login to OpenAthens at multiple institutions?

 

The following AskAway libraries use OpenAthens software to provide access to online resources:

• British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)
• Douglas College (DC)
• Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD)
• Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC)
• University of British Columbia (UBC)
• University Canada West (UCW)
• University of the Fraser Valley (UFV)

Note: If your library uses OpenAthens and is not included in the list, please contact us.

If you're using the guest logins to access resources at two or more of these libraries in the same browser session, that can create issues. See below for more information on what's happening and workarounds.

Update: July 2024

OpenAthens has released a new feature that allows users to sign into two or more institutions that use OpenAthens in the same browser session.

• For example, if you are signed into UBC resources via their OpenAthens guest login in Chrome, you can navigate to UFV resources in the same Chrome browser session and sign in and access UFV resources using the UFV OpenAthens guest login.

Here's how the new feature works:

1. Sign into the first institution (e.g., UBC) using the AskAway guest logins. When you sign into the second institution (e.g., UFV) in the same browser, you may be informed that you're encountering a detected change in the organization and will see this message:

The message says "You have attempted to access a resource via a different organization than the one used to authenticate your most recent OpenAthens session. Please sign in using your credentials for this organization."

Alternatively, you may not see any message and will simply be signed into the new institution.

2. Follow the steps to sign-in using the OpenAthens guest login for the institution you want to access.

3. If you're signing into a database, it's recommended to confirm the new institution's name is visible in the database to ensure you're accessing the correct resources.

Local coordinators and the Admin Centre have tested the new feature with mostly successful results, but there have been some issues reported. You can report any issues you encounter (with screenshots and steps you took) to the Admin Centre.

OpenAthens has information about this new feature on their documentation page "When users have accounts from more than one organisation."

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Issue

If you use the AskAway guest login account to access resources at one OpenAthens library, you will not be able to access resources at another OpenAthens library if you are in the same browser session.

For example, if you're in a Chrome browser and you sign-in to Academic Search Complete at ECUAD Library, if you then access Academic Search Complete at Douglas College Library, you will be redirected to ECUAD Library's instance of the database and unable to access Douglas College Library's resources. This is because OpenAthens keeps you signed in unless you quit the browser or a set amount of time has passed (usually 8 hours).

Workarounds

Here are two workarounds so that you can login to resources at the different institutions that use OpenAthens and continue helping students with the resources they have access to:

1. Sign into the first institution (e.g. ECUAD Library) via a regular browser window and then open a Private / Incognito browser window to sign into the second institution (e.g. DC Library)
   • When you're finished, close the Private / Incognito window, and the logins should be cleared as well
     • Note: You may need to close all Private / Incognito windows before opening a new one and logging in via OpenAthens at a new institution
   • See these links for more information on how to open Private (Firefox) and Incognito (Chrome) windows
2. Sign into each library's resources in a different browser (e.g. ECUAD in Chrome, Douglas College in Firefox)

Suggestions or Questions?

If you have any workarounds to suggest or any questions, we'd like to hear from you. Please contact the Admin Centre.