[WEB4LIB] User Authentication for Remote Users

[Charles P. Hobbs]

On Wed, 14 Oct 1998, Greg D. Schmitz wrote:

> Web4Lib subscribers,
> 
> This year our library is adding several database subscriptions, and we
> want our library patrons to be able to access these products from home.
> In a recent thread on user authentication, several people did mention
> IAC, which we currently do have a remote system for.  However, I didn't
> see any discussion about the following products or companies:


In the library I work for (King Drew Health Science Library,
http://www.cdrewu.edu), we offer Ovid, MD Consult, and a couple of other
databases, as well as several electronic versions of print journals.

For users "on campus", the databases grant access via IP-validation. All
other off-campus users are requested to input a password upon accessing
the database's web site.

Of course, not all database companies offer IP validation (requiring
passwords from all users); still others only offer IP validation
(precluding any off-campus usage). 

It would probably be most useful to directly contact the provider of any
database you are interested in, and find out what their policies are.