[WEB4LIB] patron authentication

[Andrew I. Mutch]

I provided Greg a copy of the script we use.  It authenticates the first
several numbers - we have the same issues - remotely hosted site and no
access to our patron database. I believe Monica King first passed this
along to me so credit goes to her for making this available. If you would
like a copy, let me know.

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI


On Sat, 28 Aug 1999 gbarkovi at sfu.ca wrote:

> Colleagues:
> 
> As many of you have already done, we are seeking to set up some sort of user authentication function on our webiste to limit access to an online database. Our web server is not housed locally so I don't believe we would be able to (easily) check a patron table in our database via ODBC. In a year or so we will be upgrading our system and at that time we will be able to access an actual list of patrons.
> 
> For now, however, we were wondering about a pseudo authentication which would give the impression of checking a patron number. I have seen such things in operation where the correct number of digits must be entered, and must begin with the correct 2 or more digits, but beyond that individual numbers are not verified. Does anyone have an idea how to write a script that could do this? Or any other suggestion for limiting access to a subscription database without actually checking a patron table?
> 
> Thanks for any info.
> 
> Greg Barkovich/Librarian/Burnaby Public library
> Phone: (604) 436-5401  Fax:(604) 436-9087 
> 6100 Willingdon Ave. 
> Burnaby,B.C. V5H 4N5 
> gbarkovi at sfu.ca / "You cannot kill time without injuring eternity" Thoreau
>