Library guides / Biblioteekgidse: Off-campus Access for Stellenbosch Registered Users: Off-campus access to electronic resources

Ways of accessing e-resources from off-campus

In terms of the license agreements governing the electronic resources that the Library subscribes to, access to these resources is restricted to Stellenbosch University staff members and currently registered students. It is therefore important that users identify themselves as legitimate SU users before they will be allowed to access a resource.

On campus users are identified as SU users because they are accessing a resource from within the registered IP range of the University. Off-campus, other means of authentication is required.

1. Access through the Library website
Search Library Search, the e-Journals A-Z list, the Databases A-Z List or your faculty librarian's library guide. When clicking through to e-resources, you will be asked to authenticate via the University's 'Single Sign-on' screen.

2. Access through your institution (Federated Access)

See below, What is federated access and how does it work?

3. Access through personal user account

Some sites (e.g. Elsevier and Sabinet) offer you a personal sign-on option. For others (e.g. EasyData and Eighty20) this is the only option, even on campus.

4. Access through Google Scholar

If you set your preferred Library Choice in Google Scholar, it will automatically detect when an article is freely available via any of the electronic platforms that Stellenbosch University Library subscribes to. Use the guide below to change your Google Scholar settings on your own computer.

To display Full-text @ Stellenbosch links in Google Scholar

What is federated access and how does it work?

A form of single sign-on that allows researchers to access content from different publishers at any place or time — not just when they’re using their institution’s IP address.

Federated Access lets you log into library e-resources with your SU username and password without starting on the Library webpage. If you find an article searching from Google Scholar, you can access some of our resources without finding a "proxied" link. We have set up federated access for the resources on the list to the right.

A few general guidelines:

Look for the phrase "Access through your institution".
Look for this icon:
If prompted to select a "Federation", look for SAFIRE or South African Identity Federation.
If there's a search box to find your intsitution, type in Stellenbosch.
Logging in through one resource will sometimes allow you to access the other resources described here. You may have to go through the process of identifying your institution again.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is Federated Access replacing the current access method via EZProxy?
No, Federated Access is an additional access method.

Why is the resource I want to access not on the list?
Unfortunately not all vendors have Federated Access authentication set up yet. We will continue to monitor the list and set up Federated Access for vendors as it becomes available.