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Off-Campus Access

End of Service Alert: Proxy Server

Falcone Library is transitioning away from the old proxy server method of authentication and moving to OpenAthens.

We are replacing URLs on our web pages, database and journal pages and the library catalog. This will be an extensive project and currently doesn't have a completion date assigned. However, our intention is to terminate the proxy service during the spring of 2023. In the interim, we will continue run the proxy alongside OpenAthens. However, all library instruction materials will be revised to only reference OpenAthens.

What is a Proxy Server?

Normally, you have to be on-campus or follow a link from the Library's website in order to access Le Moyne's subscriptions to online journals, e-books and databases. Links that the library provides are written in a special way so that they pass through the Library's proxy server. The proxy server acts to make it seem to the resource you want to access that you are on-campus, even if you are not. Read more...

If you are on-campus, you may never have realized this was even happening. On the other hand, when you are off-campus, in order to gain access to these subscription-restricted research materials, the proxy server requires you to first login using your Le Moyne user ID and password. This login proves to the proxy server that you are a current Le Moyne student, staff or faculty member who is entitled to access to the subscribed resource.

Proxy Server Login Screen
Login using either your campus computer account or your campus ID card

So, what happens if you come across a link to a journal article or e-book via a Google search when you are off-campus? In all likelihood, you won't be able to access that resource even if the Library subscribes to it because its URL hasn't been reformatted to use the Le Moyne proxy server!  

To remedy this problem, install the "Proxy This" bookmarket. 

Install the "Proxy This" Bookmarklet

How do I proxy any link?

Drag the Proxy This "bookmarklet" button to your browser's bookmark toolbar to install it. Bookmarklets can be installed on Chrome, Firefox and Safari. Microsoft's Edge and Internet Explorer browser's do not allow the installation of bookmarklets.

When you click the "bookmarklet", it will read the original URL of the page you are on and rewrite it to send it through the Le Moyne proxy server. If the page is for a Le Moyne subscription, you can login to the proxy server to gain access to that resource. (You only need to do this when you are off-campus.)

Note! If the resource is not a Le Moyne subscription, you will get an error message:

The address you are trying to access is invalid.

Just hit the back button of your browser to return to the unproxied URL. Note also that Library subscriptions may not include all the content of a given e-resource. For example, some publishers have backfiles of older material that are not included in current subscriptions. You can order these articles free of charge through Interlibrary Loan. It may also be possible to find an open access version of the article using the Unpaywall browser extension.

When in doubt, check the "Find Articles" Library guide or contact a librarian for help.

What Is A Bookmarklet?

What is a "bookmarklet"?

Bookmarklets are browser bookmarks that contain a contain a tiny bit of JavaScript code instead of a normal URL. Clicking the bookmarklet runs the program. The "Proxy This" bookmarklet rewrites the URL in your browser address bar to include the proxy server address and then loads that new URL in the browser. Read more...

Technical Overview

If you right-click the "Proxy This" button, you can copy the code into a text file and inspect what it does.

javascript:pc=location.protocol;hn=location.hostname;hn=((pc==='http:')?hn:hn.replace(/\./g,'-'));pt=location.port;pt=(pt?':'+pt:pt);pn=location.pathname;sn=location.search;hs=location.hash;void(location.href=pc+'//0-'+hn+'.library.lemoyne.edu'+pt+pn+sn+hs);

In a nutshell, the code looks at the protocol being used:

If the protocol is "http", then the script prefixes the domain name with "0-" and adds ".library.lemoyne.edu" (the address of the proxy server) as a suffix to the domain name. So, "http://www.sciencedirect.com/" is rewritten as "http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.library.lemoyne.edu/".

If the protocol is "https", then the script prefixes the domain name with "0-" and adds ".library.lemoyne.edu" as a suffix, as before. But it also rewrites the domain name itself, substituting "-" for ".". So, "https://www.sciencedirect.com/" is rewritten as "https://0-www-sciencedirect-com.library.lemoyne.edu/". This extra step to rewrite the domain name is a requirement of the web security certificate our proxy server uses.

"Unproxy This" Bookmarklet

For power users: Use this UnProxy This bookmarklet to remove the proxy server information from the URL. 

This might come in handy if the proxy server is temporarily offline and you are on-campus.

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