Online resources

Being asked to pay for content

• If you are being asked to subscribe to a resource or pay to access content, it may mean that the library does not subscribe to the resource 
• However, you should double check by trying to access the resource through City LibrarySearch

Here is an example.  I have searched for 'fairy tales' on Google Scholar.

• If I click on the title link, I get taken through to the article citation on the Taylor and Francis publisher platform.
• I try to click through to the article using the PDF link.
• At this point I am told I either need to log in with my individual subscription, or pay £24.00 to read the article.
• Using my City log in details does not work as I do not have an individual subscription.
• I will try CityLibrary Search to see if we have a subscription to the journal via a different provider.
• We have the full text of the article available via Academic Search Complete so I can now read the article.
•  If you have checked City LibrarySearch and found we do not have access to the resource, you can order resources via our Interlibrary Loans Service, or try to find it in another library

Access denied

This error may appear after you have tried to log in to a resource. Error message at login screen: Unable to identify you through your campus identification. Please use your library identification or see a librarian for assistance.

• Are you able to log in to your email account and Moodle? If you can't, there could be a problem with your log in details.
  • Visit the IT Self-Service portal  or phone them on 020 7040 8181 to check your log in details. 
• If you are able to log in to other university resources, there may be a problem with the online resource or with your library account.
  • You can report these problems by contacting the library or you can email us..

Security certificate

• Occasionally when you try to access an online resource through CityLibrary Search, your browser will issue a security warning.
• Don't worry, it is fine to simply click through this message to access the resource.

Here is an example of the warning in Google Chrome which appears after I try to access Factiva through CityLibrary Search.

• Select the 'proceed anyway' button to continue to the resource​
• A similar warning appears when I use Internet Explorer
• It is fine to click through to the website using the 'Continue to this website (not recommended).' link

310 Too many redirects

“This Webpage has a redirect loop” (net::ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS): there were too many redirects.

• This error can usually be solved by clearing your cookies and restarting your browser.

401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden

• This happens when you are trying to access a website that will only let certain people in.
• They are usually password protected.
• If you encounter this error message, try checking CityLibrary Search to see if we subscribe to the resource.
• If we do, CityLibrary Search will give you a quick link to the correct place to log in.

404 Not Found

• This means that you have arrived at the correct website, but that the page you're looking for can't be found.
• The page may have been moved to another location or deleted entirely. 
• Alternatively, you may have followed an out-of-date or incorrect link or typed in the url incorrectly.

502 Bad gateway/service temporarily overloaded

• This error message can be caused when too many people try to access a website at once.
• The problem is temporary and the best thing to do is to try refreshing the page, or try again later.

502 Proxy Error

• If you come across this error message on a few different websites, try using a different browser.
• Or alternatively, close down the browser you are using, wait a few seconds, re-open it and try again.

Online resource access problems

If you are experiencing problems accessing:

• a journal
• a database
• an e-book

please complete the login-problem report form.