About the Library Proxy Server
Most of the Library’s electronic resource database vendors allow access to their products only from computers with an Internet (IP) address that is recognized as belonging to the U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. The Library’s Proxy Server allows authorized members of the UIUC community to access these restricted databases off-campus.
Your web browser communicates with the proxy server in the library, which communicates with the e-resource web site for you, and makes it appear that you are on campus. After you’re successfully authenticated, the proxy server will add this prefix to the online resources that you requested: https://proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login?url= . This allows all of your requests to be from the University of Illinois campus.
Your NetID and AD (Active Directory) password are required to use the proxy service. It is how the Library verifies that you are affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If you don’t know your NetID or AD password, please visit Technology Services Account Services for assistance.
As a user, you don’t have to do anything special to make this work. When you click a link from on a Library web page, the Library web server decides whether you need the proxy server. If you are off-campus, you are prompted for your University Net ID and Active Directory password. Once that’s verified, you’ll get a link to begin using the e-resource through the proxy server. Your connection will stay authorized until either you close your web browser, or don’t communicate with the proxy server for two hours.
Both the library proxy server and Technology Services VPN service will re-route your internet traffic and change your IP address. However, the license terms for most of the Library’s subscription databases restrict access to current University employees, students, and emeriti faculty. Using the VPN with Option 3 “TunnelAll” and unproxying a url will allow you to bypass EZProxy. If the proxy server is not working right for some reason, please use the VPN with “TunnelAll” to access library electronic resources.
It should work in conjunction with the Library proxy server. Unlike a standard HTTP proxy server, the Library proxy presents web pages that appear to come from a normal web server. It does this by searching the content of the pages it retrieves on your behalf, and rewriting the URLs so they refer back to itself instead of the remote servers it proxies. Therefore, you should not change your web browser’s proxy settings to use our service.
Whom to Contact
Depending on what kind of problem that you’re experiencing:
If you’re trying to log in the proxy server but getting “Incorrect NetID or password” from a Shibboleth page or “Not authorized” message from the proxy server, it means that either the NetID or password that you typed in was wrong or your status in the campus database doesn’t allow you to access library electronic resources. Please contact Technology Services Help Desk for assistance.
If you are unable to access an online resource or being asked to pay for accessing a full text article in an electronic database (and you believe this is an error), it means that the individual e-resource or database may be having issues. Please contact the Library’s Electronic Resources Management Working Group for assistance.
If you get an “HTTP 404 Server Not Found” or “HTTP 503 Service unavailable” message. Usually it comes from an aged-out login. If you open a new incognito window or clears the browser cache/cookies/history, the error will almost always be cleared. In rare cases, the message means the proxy server is down or having issues. If you have tried to clear cache/cookies/history and still get the error, please use VPN with “TunnelAll” option to bypass EZProxy and contact Library IT Help Desk at 217-244-4688 to report the problem.
Bookmark or Link to Database Resources
- Please see information on the Electronic Resources Troubleshooting page.
Related Resources
- Ezproxy and Shibboleth — the Library IT’s service commitments for the proxy service.
- Database Linking — covers basic strategies for creating persistent links in ProQuest, EBSCO, JStor and Lexis Nexis Acadmic Universe.
- EndNote — has detailed instruction on how to set up proper links to the Library’s proxy server in the software.