The GW Libraries and Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library now OpenAthens as our new authentication system. OpenAthens integrates with GW's Single Sign-On system to provide secure access to our electronic resources both on and off campus. We went live with OpenAthens in May 2024.
Users who were familiar with our old system should not notice many changes. They will still see the same GW authentication screen to get to resources. OpenAthens will not add or remove any content. Links created before May 2024 should be updated; see Creating Links for more information.
Q. Who runs OpenAthens?
A. OpenAthens is part of JISC, a not-for-profit organization based in the UK.
Q. Why did we migrate to OpenAthens?
A. OpenAthens now provides greater stability and reliability than our old system. In the future, the University plans to move away from IP-based authentication as much as possible, and OpenAthens will allow this.
Q. Will old pre-OpenAthens links still work?
A. Old links to our resources should be updated as soon as practical. However, for the time being there will be automatic redirects from the old links to OpenAthens.
Q. Will IP address authentication still work?
A. In the immediate future, IP-based authentication will still work for most resources. This will, for example, allow users to get full text access when on campus or on the VPN even without an OpenAthens link. However, some resources may not be able to use both OpenAthens and IP authentication.
Q. Should we still use the VPN?
A. The GW VPN gives users IP-based authentication while off campus. It should not be necessary with OpenAthens, but you are still free to use it. It may still improve access for things other than GW Libraries resources. For example, the VPN will allow non-law students to access certain databases that we get from the Burns Law Library (which is not currently using OpenAthens). It is also useful for a few databases that are not yet compatible with OpenAthens. These will be noted in our database list.
Q. Do Law School users have access to OpenAthens?
A. Yes, Law School students and faculty have full access to GW Libraries resources via OpenAthens. The Burns Law Library uses a different authentication system for its own resources, but Law School users have access to both systems.
Q. Can we still use Zotero with OpenAthens?
A. Yes! However, if you use the Zotero Connector browser add-in, be sure to turn off its "Enable proxy redirection" feature. See our guide for instructions.
Q. Does OpenAthens have anything to do with Open Access?
A. No. The similar "OA" names are just a coincidence.
Q. What about EZproxy?
A. EZproxy was our old authentication system. OpenAthens has replaced it. You can recognize EZproxy links because they start with "http://proxygw.wrlc.org/login?url=" or contain the string "proxygw" somewhere in the URL. These links will continue to work for the time being, but should be updated to use OpenAthens.
