Remote Access FAQs
Q. If a member of the Fresno State campus community (students, faculty, and staff) wants access to databases, electronic journals, or other electronic resources when away from campus, what's the best way to gain access?
A. Generally, using the Madden Library Web pages is the best way to access data. The librarians update the Web page links regularly, and any access codes or login paths are reflected in these regular updates.
Q. When I use the Madden Library Web pages to get to the electronic journals and databases, I'm asked for my campus email username and password. In the past, I needed to provide my campus ID barcode and campus ID number. Why did you change from using the barcode and start using the campus email login and password?
A. When the Library began offering access to electronic resources via the Web in the early 1990s, the campus did not have a uniform way of allowing students, faculty and staff to identify themselves online as a member of the Fresno State campus community. Since the Library uses the barcodes on campus ID cards to allow users to check materials out of the Library, it seemed a natural extension to use the barcode to allow users to identify themselves online. In recent years, the campus has settled on using the campus email username and password to allow members of the campus community to identify themselves online, and the Library has adopted this form of identification in as many Library systems as will permit it. Over the next few years, all Library systems will be moved to this form of authentication.
Q. Why does the Library need this information?
A. In order to allow you to gain access to the content the Madden Library has licensed for the campus, we must use the information you input to assure that you are currently a student, faculty, or staff member of Fresno State. Validation takes place against the campus' email directory system; since all current students, faculty and staff have email accounts at Fresno State (and since it's a lot easier to remember your email username and password than it is to remember all the numbers in a barcode), the email username and password provide a convenient method for users to prove that they are affiliated with Fresno State and should gain access to the electronic resources licensed for the campus.
Q. I am trying to gain access to the Library's electronic resources from the computer at my place of work, but I can't always connect.
A. Many organizations, particularly health care and financial management companies, secure the sensitive data on their networks behind a firewall or by using VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). If your company uses a firewall, a technical support person who maintains your company's network must allow access to ports 8000, 8080, and allow https connections. They must also enable access to the hostname lib.csufresno.edu. If your company uses a VPN, you may need to log out of the VPN before accessing Library home pages. Please contact your company's technical support for assistance with doing this. A user who logs out of the VPN server and then tries to gain access to a resource will be challenged with the standard remote access identification (which is your campus email username and password).
Q. How can I tell if I can gain access to an electronic resource from off-campus?
A. The Madden Library uses a proxy server to allow members of the campus community whose computers are not connected to the internet from a campus IP address to gain access to databases and resources licensed for the campus. If you are attempting to access these resources from off campus, using the links off the Library pages (http://www.csufresno.edu/library ) will gain you access to the databases. Some educational software, government databases, and other CDROMs are installed on Library computers and are not available outside of the Library.
Q. I'm using NetZero HiSpeed or Juno and having problems connecting to databases. What can I do?
A. Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including NetZero HiSpeed and Juno, use dial-up accelerators (some of which include their own proxy services which can cause problems with the way the Library provides access to off-campus users. If you are receiving error messages when using NetZero HighSpeed, try turning off HiSpeed in NetZero's toolbar. If you are receiving error messages when using Juno, try turning off high speed functionality. You should also turn off the Juno proxy server if it is enabled. You can enable these features when you are through using the Library's databases.
