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Using OneSearch and Off Campus Access to Library Resources

Topic guide that provides tips for using OneSearch and Accessing Licensed Resources from Off-Campus

Ezproxy Migration: What You Need To Know

What? EZproxy, the means of conferring remote access to licensed library resources for Cal Poly students, faculty, and staff, migrated to a new cloud host on July 1, 2023.

How might this affect me now?  

General Issue:

  • It may be when you first return to a publisher platform  (e.g., EBSCO, Taylor & Francis) you won't seem able to get access.  Refreshing the page and trying again resolves that issue.

Using Prior Links to Specific Resources:

  • If you placed direct proxied links from databases to resources in Canvas or elsewhere before July 1, those links will no longer work.
  • (Note:  OneSearch permalinks are NOT impacted and links to TO specific databases are NOT impacted. Links from Ebook Central, O'Reilly and VLebooks have automatically fixed themselves and need no attention.)

What should I do?

Recommended: 

  • Identify e-resource links in Canvas or elsewhere with the old proxy url and update to the new proxy url by substituting the correct string of code
  • Old links are easy to identify, as you will see the following snippet in the url:  ezproxy.lib.calpoly.edu

  • Functioning links, by contrast, will contain this snippet in the url: calpoly.idm.oclc.org

  • Scroll to the next box for instructions on manual and semi-automated methods for swapping

Alternate Method:

  • Search anew for the resources in the databases and get urls with the new proxy links.  Warning: you may not be able to identify resources simply by looking at the old url. 

What if I do nothing?

  • Old proxy links in Canvas and elsewhere will not work.

Manual Method

Identify an instance of:  

ezproxy.lib.calpoly.edu

Cut that string and paste in instead:  

calpoly.idm.oclc.org

Try the new link in a browser to confirm that it confers access to the resource.

Warning: this method is prone to minor errors ( such as an extra space) that make the link non-functional.

Semi-automated Method: Use Find and Replace

Use "Find and Replace" options in Word, Excel and other programs.  This will be useful if you have staged links in syllabi, spreadsheets, or docs.

Find all instances of:  

ezproxy.lib.calpoly.edu

Replace with:  

calpoly.idm.oclc.org

You can also just cut and paste manually, but this is prone to minute errors.