NOTE: If you were attempting to use electronic resources (electronic reserves; indexes or databases; electronic journals, etc.) and were redirected to this page, that generally means that you are not being recognized as an authorized Rutgers' user by the Libraries' proxy server. See How do I connect below.

• Who can use the Libraries' electronic indexes and full-text resources?
• Do I need a password to use the Library Catalog or the indexes to articles and other publications?
• Making the Connection
  • How do I connect to the Libraries' electronic resources from home?
  • I've already configured my browser and am connecting using my Library Barcode and PIN. Do I need to change to a NetID login?
  • I tried to login with my NetID, but it's just giving me some sort of message about cookies.
  • After I put in my NetID, a box comes up telling me I'm being redirected to a nonsecure site, and that anything I input can be read by others. Why is this happening?
  • I logged in with my NetID, but when I use my bookmark to go to ScienceDirect it won't let me look at any articles.
  • I have my browser configured to connect with my Library Barcode, but I've forgotten my Password.
  • I'm a student in a Rutgers/UMDNJ joint degree program, a faculty emeriti, or a visiting scholar.. How do I connect?
  • I'm trying to login with my Rutgers Libraries Barcode and PIN, but they're not being recognized.
  • I'm trying to use one of your online indexes, and it keeps asking me for a user name and password. Nothing I've tried works; what password am I supposed to be using?
• I've been using library databases remotely all semester, but tonight when I try to connect to PsycINFO I'm being asked for an ID and Password.
• I live right on campus and my dorm is wired so I can connect to the Rutgers network. But when I tried to use some electronic journals today it wouldn't let me in. What's the problem?
• I am trying to get an article from a 1989 issue of "The Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids", which is a Science Direct title. I get a message saying that this isn't part of our libraries regular subscription but I can still get it by clicking again. In the past I have done this and have always received the article. Now a message comes up and says "Either your account is not configured to allow this transaction, or the transactional balance limits have been exceeded."
• Disconnecting from the Libraries
  • When I'm done using the library resources, how do I log out?
  • I'm no longer a student at Rutgers, but my computer is still asking for my Rutgers Username and Password. How do I turn this off?

Who can use the Libraries' electronic indexes and full-text resources?

By contract, remote access to the Rutgers University Library's indexes and other electronic resources is available only to current Rutgers students, faculty and staff. Faculty emeriti and visiting scholars at the university are recognized as current faculty.

Current students and faculty in certain Rutgers/UMDNJ joint degree programs--namely, the Rutgers/UMDNJ Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) and School of Public Health (SPH) on the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses--may also qualify for access. Others are welcome to use our resources on-site in any Rutgers library. Or check out the list of Public Access Databases.

Do I need a password to use the Library Catalog or the indexes to articles and other publications?

Access to the Library Catalog is unrestricted.

Nor are passwords required for the use of individual online indexes or other electronic publications. However, you will need to login with your Rutgers University NetID in order to access these online library resources from off-campus.

If you have a Rutgers NetID and do not remember what it is you may look it up using the NetID Lookup application. If you do not yet have a Rutgers NetID you may Create a OIT Account and NetID.

Students and faculty in recognized Rutgers/UMDNJ joint programs (Rutgers/UMDNJ Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) and School of Public Health (SPH) on the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses) may login with a Rutgers University Libraries' barcode and PIN. To receive a barcode and PIN, joint program participants must register in-person at either the Alexander Library or the Library of Science and Medicine Circulation Desks. Faculty emeriti and visiting scholars may also login in with a library barcode and PIN.

How do I connect to the Libraries' electronic resources from home?

There are several options:

• If you normally connect to the web via a commercial Internet Services Provider (e.g., AOL, NetZero, etc.), you can use the Libraries' electronic resources remotely by logging in with your Rutgers University NetID.

From a Rutgers Libraries' page, just click on the   LOGIN   link on the upper left.

Then enter your NetID and Password into the Login box.

Once you identify yourself as an authorized Rutgers' user, you will be able to use most of the Libraries' restricted resources from home.

If you have a Rutgers NetID and do not remember what it is you may look it up using the NetID Lookup application. If you do not yet have a Rutgers NetID you may Create a OIT Account and NetID.

I've already configured my browser and am connecting using my Library Barcode and PIN. Do I need to change to a NetID login?

If you have already configured your browser to access restricted library resources remotely don't worry, the "old" method will continue to work until August 22^nd 2005.

I tried to login with my NetID, but it's just giving me some sort of message about cookies.

You see this message when your browser is set not to accept cookies.

In order for the proxy server to keep track of users that have already logged in, it will send a cookie to your browser that you will need to accept. This is a session based cookie only and does not in any way store any information about sites you have visited.

If you have disabled cookies on your browser, you will need to change this setting in order to use the NetID login..

Internet Explorer Users

Internet Explorer 6.x:

1. From the browser menu bar select Tools, then Internet Options.
2. Click on Privacy tab.
3. If you currently have Custom settings, click on the button marked Default.
4. If your security level is set to Block [all cookies] or High, move the slide down to Medium High or lower.
5. Click on the Apply button to activate your changes.
6. Click on OK to exit the menu.
7. Try logging in again.

Internet Explorer 5.x [Windows 95/98/NT/2000]

1. From the browser menu bar select View and then Internet Options
2. In the Internet Options window, select the Security tab.
3. In the Security window, select the Internet icon, then click on the Custom Level button.
4. In the Security Settings menu, select Cookies.
5. Under "Allow cookies that are stored on your computer" select Enable
6. Under "Allow per-session cookies (not stored)" select Enable.
7. Click on OK to exit the menu.
8. Try logging in again.

Internet Explorer 5.x [Windows XP]

1. From the browser menu bar select Tools and then Internet Options
2. In the Internet Options window, select the Privacy tab.
3. If your security level is set to Block [all cookies] or High, move the slide down to Medium High or lower.
4. Click on OK to exit the menu.
5. Try logging in again.

Not sure what version of the browser you have?

• Select Help from the menu on the top of your browser screen.
• Select About [name of browser].
• A window will open which specifies which version (5.5; 6.2, etc.) of the browser you are using.

After I put in my NetID, a box comes up telling me I'm being redirected to a nonsecure site, and that anything I input can be read by others. Why is this happening?

The login to the Rutgers web site is a secure channel. When the login in is complete, it passes you to the regular library page, which is not a secure site. The security certificate that you have to accept is your agreement to go from the secure login site to the Libraries' web page. So don't worry, your login information is safe. You only get the certificate AFTER you have successfully logged in.

I logged in with my NetID, but when I use my bookmark to go to ScienceDirect it won't let me look at any articles.

By using a bookmark that you set up before you started using the NetID login, even though you're still logged in you've become "disassociated" from the proxy server.

Doing any of the following during a session can cause the proxy server to assume that you're no longer connected:

• Using a bookmark that was set up before you started using the NetID login.
• Using a article link that you emailed to yourself from a campus computer.
• Clicking on home.
• Typing a url into the location bar that doesn?t include the proxy, ie., "proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu".
• Attempting to connect to a restricted resource from a non-RUL page.

To reconnect to the proxy server, just go back to a Rutgers Libraries page and click on the yellow "LOGIN HERE" link. This should immediately change to "Logged In." Then select ScienceDirect (or any other resource that you're trying to access) directly from the Libraries' web page.

Once you've connected from the Libraries' page, you can bookmark the new 'proxied' address.

As long as "proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu" appears before the first single slash in a web address, you are logged in and are being recognized as an authorized Rutgers user.

I have my browser configured to connect with my Library Barcode, but I've forgotten my Password.

Your Password is your library PIN: A four-digit personal identification number issued by the Libraries. If you do not have or have forgotten your PIN, go to or call the Circulation Desk of any Rutgers Library, or else fill out Library PIN/Registration form.

I'm a student in a Rutgers/UMDNJ joint degree program, a faculty emeriti, or a visiting scholar.. How do I connect?

Students and faculty in recognized Rutgers/UMDNJ joint degree programs who are not qualified to obtain a Rutgers NetID, faculty emeriti, and visiting scholars may login with a Rutgers University Libraries' barcode and PIN. To receive a barcode and PIN, joint degree program participants must register in-person at either the Alexander Library or the Library of Science and Medicine Circulation Desks. Visiting scholars must register in-person at any Rutgers library and present a valid RUconnection ID card. Faculty emeriti may register in-person or by filling out a "Registering with the Libraries" online form.

Once you have registered and received a Rutgers Libraries barcode and PIN, from a Rutgers Libraries' page just click on the   LOGIN   link on the upper left.

Click on the "Library barcode and PIN Login" link in the lower right of the next page.

Enter your 14-digit library barcode and 4-digit library PIN.

Once you accept the security certificate you will be returned to the page that you entered from; your LOGGED IN status will now be indicated on the upper left.

I'm trying to login with my Rutgers Libraries Barcode and PIN, but they're not being recognized.

There may be a number of reasons why your Barcode/PIN are not being recognized.

• How recently were you issued your barcode and/or PIN?

• Have you previously gone to "MY ACCOUNT" and changed your PIN to a combination of letters and numbers, or just letters?

I'm trying to use one of your online indexes, and it keeps asking me for a user name and password. Nothing I've tried works; what password am I supposed to be using?

If you are being asked for this information at the point at which you are trying to connect to an index or an electronic journal, you are not logged in to access Rutgers-restricted resources remotely. See the Remote Access Instructions above.

I've been using library databases remotely all semester, but tonight when I try to connect to PsycINFO I'm being asked for an ID and Password.

If you are able to access other restricted Rutgers Libraries resources but are being asked to login when you try to connect to a specific database such as PsycINFO or Factiva, most likely you are trying to use that database at a time when the number of simultaneous users that Rutgers has contracted for has already been reached.

In which case all you need to do is to try again a little later.

I live right on campus and my dorm is wired so I can connect to the Rutgers network. But when I tried to use some electronic journals today it wouldn't let me in. What's the problem?

Unfortunately, due to the way the local networks were set up there are sometimes connectivity problems to library resources for students living in the Rutgers apartments.

If you have followed the instructions at the Rutgers Residential Networking site and properly registered your on-campus computer, and find that you are not able to access certain library resources, please write to Ask a Librarian and tell us which specific title you were unable to access and where you were trying to access it from.

Until the problem is resolved, you should still be able to access restricted library resources by logging in with your Rutgers NetID. See the Remote Access Instructions.

I am trying to get an article from a 1989 issue of "The Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids", which is a Science Direct title. I get a message saying that this isn't part of our libraries regular subscription but I can still get it by clicking again. In the past I have done this and have always received the article. Now a message comes up and says "Either your account is not configured to allow this transaction, or the transactional balance limits have been exceeded."

Prior to January 2003 Elsevier, the provider of Science Direct, allowed access to pre-1995 issues of journals that Rutgers' subscribes to as well as access to certain journals that Rutgers does not subscribe to in print on a "transactional allowance" basis. As of January 2003, this allowance was eliminated in favor of a "per access" charge that would cost Rutgers an estimated $220,000 this year over the $1.1 million that we are already paying annually for our Science Direct subscription--a pricing structure that we find neither reasonable nor within our budgetary means to support.

The Rutgers Libraries have all the pre-1995 issues of many of the Elsevier titles in print format; please check the Library Catalog to see which libraries hold the physical copies. Articles not available in any Rutgers library may be requested via Interlibrary Loan.

When I'm done using the library resources, how do I log out?

If you're logged on from home or some other location where you are the only one using that particular computer, there is no real need to log out. You will automatically be logged out when you close your browser; or if you move on to doing other things the login connection will time out after about two hours.

If however you are logging in from a public site--another library, an internet cafe, a workplace PC that you share with others--you should close your browser and break the connection when you're done.

I'm no longer a student at Rutgers, but my computer is still asking for my Rutgers Username and Password. How do I turn this off?

You need to "unconfigure" your browser by removing the old proxy setup. The easiest way to do this is to leave the Automatic Configuration URL in place, but deselect the choice.

To do this:

In Internet Explorer choose:
TOOLS > INTERNET OPTIONS > CONNECTIONS > LAN SETTINGS
Uncheck the Automatic Configuration URL check box.
(also do it for any DialUp Settings you have it entered in)

Not getting answers to your questions?
Fill out our form so you can
Ask a Librarian.