Automating Account/Password Login

[Scott Bauer]

{{ Cross-posted to DIGLIBNS-L... apologies for duplication.... }}

Our library would like to offer access to a web-based newspaper database
(Knight-Ridder's, that includes our local paper, the Contra Costa Times.) 
The database allows free searching, but an account name and password must
be entered whenever a link to the full-text of the article is selected.
We have enquired about site-licensing, but this option seems to be
unavailable at the present time.

[The URL to see this site in action is: 

http://newslibrary.infi.net/engine/cc.htm

Essentially, the links returned by a search include information on what
paper (database) the article is in, and the specific article (record)
that needs to be retrieved, in the form of a URL such as:

http://newslibrary.infi.net/global/cgi-bin/cct/
       slwebcli_get.pl?DBLIST=cc97&DOCNUM=587

This is sent to a CGI script, that asks for the account and password
before it displays the text of the article.]

I am looking for a way to have the account name and password entered
automatically, with the password hidden from the user.  I've looked at the
WEB4LIB archives, at various web tool sites, etc. and did not find any
clues as to how this can be done. (I did find some information about using
CGI on ones own server to validate users for a site so that they could
access an entire database, but the articles didn't seem to address our
specific issue.) 

Given that the links to the articles are created "on the fly" for each
search, I don't see any way to build the account and password information
into the links themselves (though, assuming the password was encrypted in
some way, this strikes me as the most user-friendly solution.)  I guess
the next best solution would be if there was a "button" that could be
clicked on whenever the account/password were asked for, that would then
enter the information for the user.

Has anyone been able to come up with a solution to this kind of problem?
I'll be glad to summarize responses for the lists....

Many thanks,

Scott Bauer   sbauer at ccnet.com   OR   sbauer at mail.contra-costa.lib.ca.us
Contra Costa County Library