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Using Science and Engineering Resources from Off-Campus
Below are frequently asked questions about using electronic journals, books, and databases from off-campus locations. Please click on the topic in which you are interested to be taken to the appropriate part of the page. For additional assistance with SciFinder Scholar, Beilstein CrossFire, or Gmelin CrossFire, please contact Judith Currano, Head, Chemistry Library, at (215) 898-2177 or currano@pobox.upenn.edu. For additional assistance with any other electronic resource, please contact your Subject Librarian.
| Electronic Journals and Books |
| Electronic Databases |
| SciFinder Scholar |
| Beilstein/Gmelin CrossFire |
Using E-Journals and E-Books from Off-Campus
Q: Can I read e-journals and e-books from an off-campus computer?
A: Yes, you can. Our e-journals and e-books are only available to current members of the Penn community. In order to read the materials, you need to authenticate yourself using the Penn Library Proxy Service.
Q: How do I authenticate myself to use the journals and books?
A: Go to any library home page and type the name of the journal or book into the FindIt! text box at the top of the screen. Alternatively, you can select the link to E-journals or E-resources, and either browse the alphabet or search to locate the title that you wish to read. Clicking the link to that title will bring up a proxy authentication page. Authenticate, using your PennKey username and password. You can also authenticate for many of the journals and books after clicking direct links within their Franklin records.
Q: Do I need to authenticate for each journal or book that I want to read during the same session?
A: No! As long as you do not close your browser or change browsers, your authentication will remain good throughout your session. You do not need to enter your username and password each time you switch resources, and if you have already used a database or another e-journal or e-book, you will not be prompted to log in. The only exceptions are the SciFinder Scholar and Beilstein/Gmelin clients. If you'd like, you can click here to authenticate now and begin reading journals and books!
Q: Can I bookmark frequently used resources and return to them using my bookmarks?
A: Yes you can, if you follow these steps.
- Type the title of the resource in the FindIt! text box at the top of any library Web page.
- Click the small i to the right of the resource's title. This will invoke a detailed description of the resource, along with a persistent URL
- Copy the persistent URL and paste it into your bookmark. This URL is proxied and will allow you to authenticate to use the resource if you are off-campus.
Using Electronic Databases from Off-Campus
Q: Can I use electronic databases from an off-campus computer?
A: Yes, you can. Our electronic databases are only available to current members of the Penn community. In order to read the materials, you need to authenticate yourself using the Penn Library Proxy Service.
Q: How do I authenticate myself to use the databases?
A: You will need to go in through the Science and Engineering Library Home page, at http://www.library.upenn.edu/scitech. Select the link to Databases, and use the search interface to locate the resource that you wish to use. Clicking the link to that title will bring up a proxy authentication page. Authenticate, using your PennKey username and password.
Q: Do I need to authenticate for each database that I want to use during the same session?
A: No! As long as you do not close your browser or change browsers, your authentication will remain good throughout your session. You do not need to enter your username and password each time you switch resources. If you have already authenticated to use an electronic book or journal, you do not need to authenticate again to use a database. The only exceptions are the SciFinder Scholar and Beilstein/Gmelin clients. If you'd like, you can click here to authenticate now and begin searching!
Q: Can I bookmark frequently used resources and return to them using my bookmarks?
A: Yes you can, if you follow these steps.
- Type the title of the resource in the FindIt! text box at the top of any library Web page.
- Click the small i to the right of the resource's title. This will invoke a detailed description of the resource, along with a persistent URL
- Copy the persistent URL and paste it into your bookmark. This URL is proxied and will allow you to authenticate to use the resource if you are off-campus.
Q: Can I link from a database to the full text of journal articles from off-campus?
A: We try to enable you to link directly to the full text of journal articles whenever possible. Most of the databases, such as Inspec, COMPENDEX, MEDLINE, ISI, and SciFinder have links to the full text of articles if Penn subscribes to the journal in which they appear. These should allow you to link directly into the article of choice. In addition, some databases actually load the text of the articles and present it as part of the record.
Most databases and journals are linked via a service called PennText, or SFX. Look for the PennText link in the database of your choice. Clicking this link will take you to a menu screen, which allows you to link to an electronic version of the article, search Franklin for the journal in which it appears, or, if we do not own the journal, fill out an Interlibrary Loan request form for the article.
If the database you selected does not show a link to PennText or to the full text of the journal article, we may still have access to that article. Search for the journal using FindIt!, the E-Journal search tool, or Franklin, and link to the full text through one of these tools. If you experience any difficulties in linking to an article, either through a database or Franklin, please contact your subject librarian.
Using the SciFinder Scholar Client from Off-Campus
Q: Can I use SciFinder Scholar from Off-Campus?
A: Yes, you can! Our license agreement requires that you be a current Penn affiliate to use the database. If you have questions about your eligibility, please click here to read the license agreement. To use SciFinder on an off-campus computer, you will need to download and install the appropriate off-campus client to your computer and authenticate using our Web client proxy system.
Q: How do I download and install the off-campus SciFinder Scholar client to my computer?
A: You first need to download a zipped installer file to your computer. You can get the installer from our download page. Follow the instructions on the download page carefully; each installer comes with a preference file called site.prf. If you do not copy the site.prf file to the SciFinder folder that your installer creates, you will not be able to use the database.
Q: How do I authenticate myself before using the client?
A: To authenticate yourself using the SciFinder Scholar client proxy system, follow these instructions.
- Open a browser, and go to the science and Engineering Libraries' home page (http://www.library.upenn.edu/scitech). Click the link to Databases, and select SciFinder from the list that is presented to you. You can also click here to be taken directly to the authentication page.
- Authenticate, using your last name and the last ten digits of your PENNCard.
- When the system tells you that your authentication has been successful, minimize, do not close, your browser window, and launch your client. If you do not start your client within five minutes, you must authenticate yourself again.
Q: If I have already authenticated through the Penn Library Proxy Service, do I still
need to authenticate using the client proxy system?
A: Yes. Although they look alike, the Penn Library Proxy Service and the client proxy system are separate systems. You will need to authenticate separately.
Q: If I have already authenticated once to use SciFinder scholar, do I need to
authenticate again?
A: Yes. Your authentication only lasts for five minutes. If it has been more than five minutes since you last authenticated and launched your client, you will need to authenticate again.
Q: If I have already authenticated through the client proxy system to use Beilstein
or Gmelin CrossFire, do I need to authenticate again before using SciFinder?
A: Yes. The two systems have different authentication requirements. You will need to authenticate separately for SciFinder and Beilstein/Gmelin.
Q: Can I use SciFinder Scholar to link to the full text of journal articles from off-campus?
A: Yes you can. Before launching your client, authenticate yourself using the Penn Library Proxy Service, as described under Electronic Journals and Books. Then, proceed to the client proxy authentication page, and authenticate as described above. You should be able to connect to the full text of articles if Penn has a current subscription to the journal in which they appear.
Using the Beilstein/Gmelin CrossFire Client from Off-Campus
Q: Can I use Beilstein or Gmelin CrossFire from Off Campus?
A: Yes, you can! To use Beilstein or Gmelin on an off-campus computer, you will need to download and install the appropriate off-campus client to your computer and authenticate using our Web client proxy system.
Q: How do I download and install the off-campus CrossFire client to my computer?
A: You first need to download a zipped installer file to your computer. You can get the installer from our download page. Follow the instructions on the download page carefully. The zipped file will extract into a folder full of files. Run the one called either "Installer" (Mac) or "Setup," (PC) to install the client. It should create a folder for the program somewhere on your disk. Within this folder is a directory called /group/prf, which contains a file called default.prf. Delete the default.prf file, and replace it with the beilstein2002a.prf file (Mac) or offcampus2.prf (PC) file that comes with your installer. Your client is now installed and configured for off-campus use.
Q: How do I authenticate myself before using the client?
A: To authenticate yourself using the CrossFire client proxy system, follow these instructions.
- Open a browser, and go to the science and Engineering Libraries' home page (http://www.library.upenn.edu/scitech). Click the link to Databases, and select either Beilstein or Gmelin from the list that is presented to you. You can also click here to be taken directly to the authentication page.
- Authenticate, using your last name and the last ten digits of your PENNCard.
- When the system tells you that your authentication has been successful, minimize, do not close, your browser window, and launch your client. If you do not start your client within five minutes, you must authenticate yourself again.
Q: If I have already authenticated through the Penn Library Proxy Service, do I still
need to authenticate using the client proxy system?
A: Yes. Although they look alike, the Penn Library Proxy Service and the client proxy system are separate systems. You will need to authenticate separately.
Q: If I have already authenticated once to use Beilstein or Gmelin, do I need to
authenticate again?
A: Yes. Your authentication only lasts for five minutes. If it has been more than five minutes since you last authenticated and launched your client, you will need to authenticate again.
Q: If I have already authenticated through the client proxy system to use SciFinder
Scholar, do I need to authenticate again before using Beilstein or Gmelin?
A: Yes. The two systems have different authentication requirements. You will need to authenticate separately for SciFinder and Beilstein/Gmelin.
Q: Can I use Beilstein or Gmelin to link to the full text of journal articles from off-campus?
A: Not at present. The CrossFire system comes with a service called LitLink, which will link you to the full text of journals to which Penn has an active subscription. However, this service is not active at present. Stay tuned for further developments!
