At the University of Portsmouth, we use an authentication system that enables you to use your University username and password, the same one you use for Moodle, to access most of the Library’s electronic resources such as e-books and e-journals, either on campus or more especially when working away from the University campus. Alternatively, you can set up the University VPN.
If you haven't yet set up your username and password, you can do so online. If you have problems creating an account please see the Information Services pages for assistance. Information Services also provides help for forgotten usernames and passwords.
Setting up VPN
You can use the University VPN (Virtual Private Network) to browse the Internet as if you are on campus, which enables easy access to e-resources by reducing the need to login. For instructions on setting up the VPN for your particular device visit the VPN page on My Port for more information.
Work Anywhere
Some online services and resources are restricted to use from within the University of Portsmouth network domain. This means you normally won’t be able to access them from elsewhere. In order to allow you access to services and resources from external networks as if you were on campus the University offers the Virtual Private Network, the most comprehensive solution, offering access to all Library resources and the shared N and K drives. It requires you to install the VPN software on your device, which may not be possible for some users.
Details for using both VPN can be found on our Work Anywhere web page. Alternatively, you can find help by contacting Information Services. Some of our resources always request your username and password whether you are working on campus or via VPN. A few resources require a specific username and password to use them when you are away from the University campus. These are listed on our Passwords for Resources web page. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Logging in via Authentication
If you prefer not to set up the VPN or you are using a shared or public computer then you can use our authentication system instead. Electronic resources are purchased by the Library from a number of different publishers and suppliers, many of whom also provide usernames and passwords to individual subscribers (not universities). Therefore, you will often see an initial username and password box which you need to ignore. Instead, you will need to look for, and click on a link which might say Institution/Institutional Login, Shibboleth or Academic Sign-in.
Once you have clicked on the link, most electronic resources will go to a screen that asks you to identify which organisation you are from. You will need to either type 'University of Portsmouth' into a search box or choose us from a series of drop down boxes. You may be required to select that you are from the UK before seeing a list of Institutions.
You will then be taken to a University of Portsmouth log in page. Enter your University login details and you should gain access to the resource. If you are accessing electronic resources from a number of different publishers and suppliers, you may notice after accessing a number of full-text results that one or more of the steps above are missed out when you try to login. This is because the details you have entered will be recognised and remembered until you logout or close your Internet browser.
Using your login
With your computer login, you can access the Library's e-resources, whether from the Library's webpages, the Library catalogue or Discovery Service. We use an authentication system that allows you to use your University of Portsmouth username and password to log in to selected services when you are outside of Portsmouth. Also called 'institutional login' it saves you having to remember individual account details for every service you use. When you are using computers on campus, you will be automatically logged in to most resources. However if you are at home you will need to use your login to identify yourself as a University of Portsmouth student.
Our suppliers have different names for the login box. Depending on the resource you want to log into, you might need to look for a link or option to “log in via your institution”, often called “institutional sign in”, or less commonly you need to select “Shibboleth”, or for certain law and news databases, “Academic sign-in”. When you access an e-resource which requires you to login, one of two things might happen: you will either be taken to a University of Portsmouth login screen where you can log in as if to a University computer and start using the resource, or you will be asked first which institution you are from. Select or type “University of Portsmouth”, this will then take you to the University login screen.
Resources which require a separate username and password
A few of our resources do not work with our authentication system and require a separate username and password to login, especially from off-campus. There is a passwords for resources page with login details for these resources on the Library website. From this page click on the passwords for resources link and then login by clicking on the blue login button on the right hand side of this page and using your University username and password. Once logged in you will see an alphabetical list of suppliers with information about accessing them.
Need Help?
If you have any problems logging into our resources then please chat to us online or email us at library@port.ac.uk