RefWorks: account access issues

RefWorks logo (RefWorks v3)

THE LIBRARY IS working with colleagues in Digital Technologies and the technical support team at RefWorks to reinstate access to version 3 of the RefWorks platform – which is currently unavailable for existing account holders.

At present, attempts to log in to RefWorks v3 resolve to a ‘Start using RefWorks’ page (see illustration below). This is not expected behaviour, and existing users will not be able to complete the ‘one-time reassociation’ process and will find themselves stuck in a loop.

The issue has been logged with RefWorks Support as an urgent case, and an update will follow once access has been reinstated.

Access to the legacy RefWorks v2 platform is currently unaffected.

UPDATE, 27 May 2022: Affected staff and students can reset their RefWorks account (in order to log in successfully using their university username and password) by following these instructions.

RESOLVED: Shibboleth and eZproxy authentication issues

THE ISSUES AFFECTING authenticated access to some front-facing library services and platforms (reported earlier today) have now been resolved.

Access to all publisher sites and resources reliant on eZproxy authentication for off-campus access has been reinstated. Authenticated access to the Worktribe research management application is also available once again.

Shibboleth and eZproxy authentication issues

Code block

THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES team has this morning deployed some planned updates to the university’s authentication environment which have caused temporary interruptions in access to some services.

Resources which rely on eZproxy authentication for off-campus access are currently unavailable (with requests resulting in an error message). Access to the Worktribe research management system is similarly affected.

The impacted platforms and services are those that have a unique, customised integration with the university’s authentication environment – so library resources that rely on standard Shibboleth-based Single Sign-on are continuing to work normally.

The DT and library teams are working with third-party suppliers to reinstate access to the affected platforms and applications as soon as possible.

A further update will follow once these issues have been resolved.

Update: Westlaw and Practical Law access issues

ATTEMPTS TO LOG in to both Westlaw and Practical Law continue to resolve to an error page for some users indicating the absence of a ‘valid registration key’.

If you experience this error please report it to the library at libinfodirect@ntu.ac.uk so steps can be taken to enable access.

The library continues to work with Thomson Reuters to resolve this technical issue.

Westlaw – access issues

Thomson Reuters - Westlaw logo

ATTEMPTS TO LOG in to the Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw service may currently resolve to an error page indicating the absence of a ‘valid registration key‘.

The issue prevents staff and students with an existing Thomson Reuters’ OnePass account from entering their registered details, and for those without a OnePass account from creating one.

The library is working with Thomson Reuters to resolve this technical issue as soon as possible.

The Practical Law platform is also affected by the same authentication issue. Notifications alerting staff and students to the problem have been added to the Find Databases entries of both services.

Resolved: Log in issues affecting library resources and other services

NTU Single sign-on

THE TECHNICAL ISSUES preventing login requests submitted through the NTU Single Sign-on service from resolving correctly reported earlier have now been resolved.

Although the service will not return to full capacity for several hours, it is already possible to log in to the full range of available library resources and services (which rely on SSO) using an NTU university username and password.

Log in issues affecting library resources and other services

NTU Single sign-on

Technical issues affecting the NTU Single Sign-on service mean that many electronic library resources are currently inaccessible from off-campus. Many library resources and services that require university username and password authentication on-campus are also affected. Teams across the university are working to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

Mintel – access currently unavailable

Mintel logo

THE LIBRARY IS working with the technical team at Mintel to re-establish authenticated access to the platform, which is currently unavailable.

Attempts to log in to the service result either in further authentication challenges or an on-screen error message.

A notification, alerting students and staff to the issue, has been added to the Mintel listing in the Find Databases service.

A further update will follow once access is confirmed as restored.

OUP journals – access issues

An example OUP journal

THE TECHNICAL TEAM behind the Oxford University Press (OUP) journals platform are working to fix a problem affecting login requests.

At present, attempts to log in to the platform either using Shibboleth or eZproxy resolve to a ‘400 bad request’ error page.

A further update will follow once the issue is confirmed as resolved.