Who is authorized to access electronic media from outside the campus network?

• Students of the University of Göttingen
• Employees of the University of Göttingen
• External members of the University Medical Center Göttingen and other faculties of the University of Göttingen

Due to legal restrictions off-campus access is not permitted for members of other universities, Alumni or private citizens.

There are three different technical variants available for the off-campus access to electronic ressources: VPN (Virtual Private Network), Shibboleth, and HAN (Hidden Access Navigator).

Our HAN server will be switched off at the end of 2025. Until then, we will gradually remove the HAN links from the catalogues.

The best option is to use eduVPN:

• Access to the media is as convenient as from the campus.
• You no longer need ‘HAN links’ from the catalogues, but can access a resource directly from the provider.
• And if you do use a HAN link, no further login is necessary.
• In addition, you also use a secure internet connection and can access your network drives at the university.

There are various reasons why you may not be able to use eduPVN for access:

• You cannot install an eduVPN client on your device? Many publishers offer an institutional login, see Shibboleth.

• Do you have a GWDG account that has been authorised to access the electronic licences?
  
  • Are you an emeritus professor and your account does not have the correct authorization? Please contact the GWDG: support@gwdg.de.
  • If you have a guest card, please contact the GWDG, so that your account can be linked to it. To do this: Please send an email from your work email address to support@gwdg.de, stating your guest card number (0007008xxxx).
  • You do not have a guest card, but are authorised? Please discuss with your contact person at the faculty whether you can apply for a guest card. See Smart Card for Guests.

This requires the eduVPN app. The app is available for all mobile devices. You can find detailed information on how to use and install it on the GWDG website.

To log in, use either your username or an alternative email address, as specified in your AcademicCloud account and the associated password.

It is important that you select a profile in eduVPN that entitles you as a member of the university (e. g., Mitarbeiter*innen, Studierende, Guest of University of Goettingen). If you deactivate the VPN connection in your app, you can switch between your VPN profiles.

The German version of this page offers a poster to explain the set up of eduVPN.

The Göttingen State and University Library operates a HAN authentication server (Reverse Proxy) until the end of 2025, through which you can access the licensed electronic media worldwide. You need your Library access data and a special access link (HAN link). Please follow the steps below to access the electronic resources via this access path:

• First select an electronic resource via GöDiscovery or the Göttingen University Catalogue (GUK), the Electronic Journals Library (EZB) or the Database Information System (DBIS).
• In GöDiscovery and the catalogue GUK you can use the link marked ‘Volltext, externer Zugriff’ for external use, in the EZB the link is shown in the field ‘To the fulltexts’ and in the DBIS the ‘Access via authentication methods (HAN)’.
• If you are outside the campus network, the authentication form for a login to the HAN server of the SUB Göttingen will be displayed automatically after selecting the link.
• Please log in with your access data of your library user account (begins with 0007).

The SUB Göttingen also offers Shibboleth/Single Sign-on for access to electronic media from outside the campus network. Over 150 publishing platforms are accessible via this single sign-on technology.

The Shibboleth login can often be found via Log in / Sign in on a publisher's website. It may need to be distinguished from the personal login with a publisher account. “Institution” or ‘library’ or the logo  indicate a Shibboleth login. In the selection, the name “Georg-August Universität Göttingen” or “Georg-August University Göttingen” is usually standardized, but there are also other variants of the name. Sometimes you first have to select the federation (German or DFN-AAI) and then your home institution. To log in, use either your username or an alternative email address, as specified in your AcademicCloud account and the associated password.

However, we are not able to offer Shibboleth access to all publishing platforms. On the one hand, smaller publishers in particular often do not offer this authentication. On the other hand, we exclude some publishers for privacy reasons, because they require the transmission of personal data for access. However, you can use the services of these publishers conveniently via VPN.

If you are unable to log in to individual publishers, have access problems or have any other questions, please contact ssoteam@sub.uni-goettingen.de.

• Please note that different access data must be entered, depending on the type of access:
  • VPN and Shibboleth/Single Sign-On: To log in, use either your username or an alternative email address, as specified in your AcademicCloud account, along with the corresponding password. If you have problems with your GWDG account, please contact GWDG support.
  • HAN: Use the access details for your library user account (your library card number begins with 0007). If you have problems with your library account, please contact one of our service counters. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it via your library account.

• You do not belong to a user group with access rights: Only employees, students and guests of the University of Göttingen can access licensed electronic media from outside the campus network.
• Please also check DBIS or EZB to see if access to the selected electronic resource is further restricted.
  Access from outside the campus IP area may not be permitted.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the staff at the Information and Service Desk.

To obtain a user card that avails access rights you need:

• a confirmation of your affiliation with research and education at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG). Please contact Rebekka Kessler +49 551 39-63387 (Tel.) or +49 551 39-69651 (Fax) at the office of the Education section of the UMG. Valid for one year, renewable with new confirmation
• Please fill in the registration form.

Please hand in these documents either per email or present a copy in the Medical Library and receive your library card and your password. You will find the library card number at the backside of the card.
To renew your user card please hand in an up-to-date confirmation of your affiliation with Research and Education of the University Medical Center Göttingen.

To access e-resources, you need a valid guest card from the university and a GWDG account that is linked to it.
Information on all the necessary steps can be found under 'Guests of the University of Göttingen' on the Registration page.