[Eril-l] Microsoft Azure & Open Athens

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

We have Azure with ezproxy right now, but I'm keeping my eye on OA.
I thought that one major benefit of OA over ezproxy is that OA doesn't just authenticate the patron into our institutional account with the provider, but also creates a possibly-anonymous individual user account for those platforms that offer an enriched experience if the user creates a personal account within our institutional account, like My EBSCOhost within EBSCOhost.
Possibly anonymous because it depends on the way it's all configured and the options on the provider's side.
If you are using that option, wouldn't dropping to Azure-only lose that? And possibly cause the patrons to lose access to those anonymized accounts that they might have set up contents alerts, saved searches, etc. in?

Melissa Belvadi
Collections Librarian
University of Prince Edward Island
mbelvadi at upei.ca
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Subject: [Eril-l] Microsoft Azure & Open Athens


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Hello,



I’m a new subscriber and I apologize in advance if this has been answered multiple times through the years, but when I try to search the archives, I keep receiving an error message.



We currently use Open Athens for our database authentication, and our university uses Microsoft Azure for email, intranet, and LMS sign in. When we set up Open Athens, our IT department connected Azure’s Active Directory with Open Athens, so patrons have an SSO experience.  So when patrons try to access a library database, they see Microsoft’s sign-in. Also, if patrons sign into to the LMS, or the university’s portal before accessing the library website, they’re not prompted to authenticate again for database access.



This may be an obvious question, but we’re trying to determine if we still need Open Athens or if Microsoft Azure provides the only authentication piece we need. From what I’ve read, Azure authenticates the user, but Open Athens is what gives the authenticated user access to the licensed content, so I think OA is needed.  Like a lot of other schools, our budget is getting tighter and Open Athens is not inexpensive.  Since administering our databases is only part of my job (small library, many hats), I don’t know all of the tech aspects in depth, so your input and advice is appreciated.



Dana





Dana Mastroianni

Head of Public Services | Jennie King Mellon Library<library.chatham.edu>

Office: 412-365-1602

Chatham University|Woodland Rd. Pittsburgh, 15232

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