As many of the e-resources are behind paywalls, Knowledge E ensures that the authentication of the users works seamlessly. This means that the user only needs to log in once to the Digital Library, and from there they can access the different e-resources and be able to download and view any full text material that is included in the institution’s subscriptions without the need to log in again to any of the publishers’ sites.
Each user gets authenticated with their individual user name and password. The user management is very easy and straightforward, where there are two options:
- The Digital Library gets integrated with the institution’s Active Directory (or other SAML compliant login server).
- The institution manages the users directly through the Digital Library.
These two options are described in the following sections.
Many institutions already have a directory with details on their staff members and students. This directory of users can be used as an Identity Provider (IdP) for logging in to the Digital Library if the directory is Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) compliant, which is the case for Microsoft Active Directory and several other login servers. This means that the users can use their usual user name and password for logging in to the Digital Library as they do for other online services that the institution provides.
In addition, the integration can be set up to include further details on the users, such as their organisational affiliation, role, campus and other fields available in the Active Directory. These fields can for example be used for the user statistics to see the usage per org unit or any other of the available fields.
Not all institutions have the option to integrate with their user directory. In that case, the institution can manage the users directly through the Digital Library. For the initial setup, the institution can upload a CSV file, including at least each user’s email address, to the Digital Library. The email address and any other desired details (like first name, last name, organisational affiliation, role, etc.) are used to automatically create the user accounts on the Digital Library. This information can then be used to send out notifications to each user and inform them about their new account, and ask them to set or reset their password.
The user management also includes the possibility to offer the users that do not yet have an account to self-register. The registration form can also include custom fields (e.g. org unit, role, gender, campus, etc.), which can be used for the analysis of the usage. Upon self-registration, the account is automatically created, but set to pending, and the institution’s administrator gets informed per email. By clicking the link in the email, the administrator can with a simple click approve or reject the user. If approved, the user’s account will become active and the user can start using the Digital Library.
To explore more on how we can work together, please contact us at sales@knowledgee.com or request more information below:
