Back when academic publishing was largely print, it was much easier to monitor access to books, journals, conference papers, etc. - users had to physically come to the library and show their affiliation (usually a student ID) in order to read or use those resources. With the majority of academic publishing now being digital, our vendors are eager to ensure that access is still only provided to authorized users. As a library, we have a responsibility to protect that access, but we also want to get our resources into the hands of all of our students, faculty, and staff. To make those resources available to folks who aren't (or can't be) on campus, we're now using Open Athens to authenticate our users.
Open Athens connects with our UT Tyler Microsoft identities (your email/Canvas/myUTTyler login) to allow access to our databases, journals, etc., regardless of whether you're on campus. If you have an internet connection, you should be able to access our resources. If you're having any trouble with a log in from off campus, please contact the library and we'll see what's going on!
When you click on a database or journal link, you'll be redirected to a sign in page where you'll enter your UT Tyler Username and Password, or your OpenAthens guest account username and password if you're a preceptor.
Most often the login box will look like this:
Click the option that matches your relationship to the University, and enter your username and password when you're asked. If you are a UT Tyler student, faculty, or staff member, this experience should be just like signing in to Canvas or your UT Tyler email.
There are some databases that work a little differently, and you'll need to click on the OpenAthens login logo in order to move through to the place to enter your credentials. If you have trouble getting to an article or other resource, look for the words "institutional login" with the logo of a building with columns.
Some examples:
