One of the most useful sessions I saw at the virtual MLA 22 Conference this month was a paper about SeamlessAccess.org:
We're all in this together: So SeamlessAccess is a Thing, and the Browser is Changing, What Do I need to Do or Know? by Linda van Keuren and Michelle Volesko Brewer.
Disruptions in access (ie, not being able to get to a fulltext article we've paid for, or being locked out of a subscription database) happen for a variety of reasons. We've all seen these or similar access troubles in our own libraries. It is one of the banes of Librarianship in this virtual age.
SeamlessAccess.org keeps tabs on the changing landscape of authentication as IPs become one of the more rare and problematic forms of authentication. SeamlessAccess grew out of RA21 that first appeared in 2016, concluding that "federated authentication held the most promise for providing a robust, scalable solution for remote access to scholarly content."
This is something I need to stay on top of (and I imagine many of you do, too!) as our IT makes changes where IP authentication will be harder and harder to maintain as the primary means to access our licensed library resources. RA21 and SeamlessAccess make more sense to me than setting up proxy servers and making people keep track of yet another username and password. We're already using it to sign into some products and services when they tap into ActiveDirectory, so it should be somewhat familiar to our IT Depts.
How it works:
- Find a resource or service provided by your institution.
- Click the "Access through your institution" button. Sign in with your institutional ID.
- You're in! Use the button to access more resources, privacy intact.
The speakers also brought up a new wrinkle that I had not previously considered would be an issue for us: The fact that internet browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge and others) will soon be making updates to improve privacy and security where they clamp down on the rampant use of cookies. Unfortunately, they won't be able to distinguish between good cookies that help foster seamless access to library resources and the more nefarious cookies that want to track users for targeted advertising purposes.
If you want to know more, check out the links below:
The Learning Center at Seamless Access.org includes the following resources:- FAQ on Browser Privacy Changes and Library Resource Access - SeamlessAccess
- Web Browsers, Privacy, and Federated Identity - Seamless Access Blog
- Access Apocalypse: Be Prepared for Anything
- How Federated Authentication Works
- Privacy, Attributes, and Why They're Important
- The Problem with IP Authentication
Did I mention it's FREE?
I suspect products and services like LibLynx and Nomad use seamless access vs setting up expensive proxy servers, while OpenAthens and EZProxy use the same technology for authentication. Those services can provide value-added user stats and remote access, which are not free.
What has been your experience with providing seamless access (Single Singon) for your library users and researchers? Have you found a solution that works?
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