We Have Outgrown IP Authentication

Abstract

User authentication to licensed, networked electronic resources have often been a pain point for librarians, library staff, and especially library users since the 1990s. The experience of accessing online library resources from an off-campus or remote site often leaves users confused and frustrated. The author provides a thorough review of the user authentication landscape for e-resources in libraries over the past 25 years and discusses options to improve authentication methods based on a system of federated identity management, including proposals emerging from the RA21 (Resource Access for the 21st Century) initiative.