What are common e-resource terms? (Glossary)
Answer
Authentication: Verifying the identity of a patron or device to allow access to library resources. DUL patrons authenticate by logging in with their NetID.
Authorization: The right or permission granted to a system entity to access a system resource.
Browser: Common browsers include Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
Cache: A small fast memory holding of recently accessed data designed to speed up subsequent access to the same data.
Central Discovery Index (CDI): CDI is the Ex Libris central discovery index, which supports Summon and Primo. It delivers enhanced discovery, streamlines library management, and provides operational efficiencies.
Cookies: A small string of information sent by a web server to a web browser that the browser sends back each time it accesses that server. The most common use of cookies is to identify and authenticate a user who has logged in to a website so they don't sign in every time they visit.
Discovery Service: Vendor-hosted platforms where patrons can search for many electronic resources that a library licenses, combined with records from our own catalog, institutional repository, and other digital collections. DUL uses Ex Libris Summon and TRLN Discovery.
EZproxy/Proxy: A web address that accesses a proxy server that facilitates remote IP. DUL uses a unique proxy string to authenticate off-campus patrons.
IP Address: Assigned to a computer by an internet provider. An IP address changes based on your location and what Wi-Fi service you are using. Visit What is my IP address? to find out your IP address.
IP Authentication: An authentication method based upon comparing the IP address of a computer trying to access a resource with a range of authorized IP addresses; if the IP address falls within the specified range, access is permitted.
Knowledge Base: KBs, like library catalogs, keep track of what a library has in its electronic collections and help to connect a library user with the information they seek. Knowledge bases are crucial to day-to-day e-resource lifecycle management operations and for getting users from the library's discovery methods to your content. DUL uses the Alma Central Knowledge Base (CKB) which is a component of the Alma Community Zone. Before the 2024 Alma migration, DUL used Ex Libris 360 KB.
Link Resolver: Software that converts or formats requests into the physical URL of the target data. It allows library users to access a single resource across multiple databases to help users find full-text access to content.
OpenURL: Similar to a permalink, these links direct to a permanent resource, like an online article or e-book, no matter the website it's on.
Permalink: A permanent connection to a specific web page. Permalinks can appear either as permanent links or as stable URLs that will always pull up the same page when entered into a browser's address bar.
Shibboleth: A single sign-on service and secure identity management solution that Duke uses to authenticate patrons and provide access to electronic resources and content.
Single Sign On (SSO): A single sign-on service allows users to use one login credentials to access multiple resources, sites, and applications.
Stanza: All resources your users access remotely using EZproxy must be configured in the config.txt file. This file contains a listing of the databases that you subscribe to with instructions for EZproxy about what resources within those databases users are allowed to access. The instructions are the directives, and when combined, these directives form database stanzas. When your users attempt to access a database after they have been authenticated, EZproxy reads your institution's resources and directives in the config.txt file and determines whether or not the resource the user is trying to access is available to your users, and either grants access (by rewriting the URL into a proxied URL) or denies access. For more information about stanzas, see OCLC's OCLC'sy documentation.
Resources:
NIST Computer Security Resource Center