Proxy Help Page | BCTC

Library

Proxy Help Page

You can access many library resources while off-campus.

If you want to use library resources from an off-campus computer or device, you may be prompted to log in first, by using your KCTCS login and password information. This login is needed because access to some library information resources (such as full-text electronic journal articles databases) are restricted to BCTC students, staff, and faculty use only.

Logging in is only necessary if you are an off-campus user. If you use library resources from an on-campus computer, your computer is identified as being on the BCTC college network and you can access the resources directly without having to log in.

Please read:

Need additional help? Consult our troubleshooting section, below:

Troubleshooting

 

The BCTC proxy accepts my login/password, but I can't get any further.

1. Deleting the Cache in your browser
Your browser might be caching a failed access attempt. If so, you need to delete the offline content stored by your browser, so that it will register your successful login. Delete browsing, search and download history, using the instructions your specific browser provides for that. Then,  be sure to refresh/reload your browser (press Control key and 'R' or your browser's 'refresh/reload button).

2. Enabling Cookies in your browser (add exception) 
The BCTC proxy server works with most browsers. However, you may need to enable cookies on your browser for the proxy server site.

3. Enabling JavaScript in your browser
If Javascript has been turned off in your browser, it can affect some databases, so you may need to check and make sure JavaScript has been enabled if you have trouble accessing some databases.

4. Database Access - supplier issues
Sometimes the connection will not go through because the database you are trying to access is temporarily unavailable due to supplier maintenance, upgrades, or service outages. You can try again later, or you may want to go back to the library articles page and click on a link to a different database to use for your research.

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The proxy server doesn't function well with my proprietary Internet Service Provider (such as AOL).

ISPs that use proprietary versions of browsers, such as AOL, sometimes can cause some problems for proxy servers. A simple workaround is to connect to the provider, minimize your AOL session and use your own copy of Firefox or other browser (you can download it) for accessing the library's resources instead of the proprietary version of the browser included with the ISP. Another common problem is that during initial set up of dial-up, cable, or broadband connections, certain browser settings get configured according to the ISP's own preferences, rather than the settings you need BCTC's proxy. That is yet another reason to minimize your session and instead use your own copy of Firefox when accessing library resources.

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I get the Message "Server Not Found" "404 Error"(File Not Found) or "DNS Error" when I try to log into the proxy server.

You may need to add the proxy server address as a "trusted site" to your home computer firewall software's list of trusted sites.

If you are trying to log into the proxy server from work or other commercial location, contact the server administrator at your location to see if access is available to you through their firewall, or if the site can be added as a trusted source.

It also may be that the college network is down temporarily or is very busy. In that case, try again later.

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I received a Muse Knowledge Proxy error message "502 Bad Gateway". What do I do?

You will get a 502 Bad Gateway error page when you attempt to access content from a source that is either not subscribed to by BCTC, or if the source information or firewall information needed to access the database source has changed. If you receive a "502 Bad Gateway" message, please write down the name of the database you were attempting to access and report the gateway error to the library at (859) 246-6394 so we can investigate further.

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I'm in KYVL. Why can't I find JSTOR, Ebook Central, ARTstor, or Academic OneFile databases?

Please be aware that not all of the BCTC library resources are available in KYVL. We supplement our KYVL subscription with subscriptions to non-KYVL resources, such as JSTOR, Ebook Central, ARTstor, and Academic OneFile. If you need to use non-KYVL databases such as JSTOR, Ebook Central. ARTstor, or Academic OneFile for a class assignment, please go through the proxied links to those specific databases instead, at the library's Find an Article page or Find a Book page. They are not available to you within KYVL.

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My instructor gave me a login/password for KYVL. It is not my KCTCS login/password. Where can I use this KYVL login/password?

Select the link labeled Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL) - Alternate Access from the BCTC Library Services' Find an Article web page. Then, enter the KYVL login/password given to you by your instructor. You can also go to this link: http://www.kyvl.org/

If you want to use your Peoplesoft login/password to access KYVL, go to the BCTC Library Services' Find an Article web page and select the link labeled Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL)

KYVL provides BCTC with access to many useful library resources, and it includes several full-text articles databases.

KYVL does not contain JSTOR, ARTstor, Oxford Reference Online, Ebook Central, Academic OneFile, Health Reference Center Academic, and Health & Wellness Resource Center databases, so if your assignment requires those databases. you must access them via the links to those databases on the Find an Article page or the Find a Book page of the BCTC Library Services web pages.

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PDF journal articles do not open.

Make sure you have the free Adobe Reader installed on your home computer. It is needed for opening and displaying PDF documents.

Many Adobe Acrobat documents are quite large: their size is often measured in Megabytes (millions of bytes) rather than Kilobytes (thousands of bytes), as is the case with most HTML files. This can cause problems when you are on a slow connection. A common symptom is that nothing happens after you click on a link to an Adobe Acrobat file. The Adobe Acrobat window comes up, but the document remains blank. In such cases, your solution might be to download the file onto your hard drive and view or print it from there. The process is as follows:

  • Hold your mouse over the link to the PDF file
  • Right click on the link
  • Choose Save Target As in the pop-up menu which appears
  • Select a location on your hard drive in the Save As dialog box
  • Click on the Save button

The file is now saved onto your hard drive. You can open this file just by double-clicking on its icon.

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When I am off-campus and I go directly to a database's homepage to log in, rather than using a database link from the library's web pages, my KCTCS login/password doesn't work.

You must go through the college's proxy server in order for your login/password to work. The proxied links on the library web pages (see proxied databases at the library's Find an Article web page, for example) are set up to automatically redirect you to the BCTC proxy server.

You enter your login/password information, and then you are redirected to the database itself. If you try to bypass the proxy server by going directly to the database supplier's site (ebsco.com, etc), the database supplier will not recognize that you are a BCTC student, and won't permit access. The proxy server is the "gatekeeper" that checks to see if you are an off-campus BCTC student before you are allowed access.

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I received a Single Sign on Error Message / Expired SAML Authentication Message. What do I do?

If you receive a single sign on error when attempting to access library databases, this is likely due to an effect of your browser cache retaining expired SAML authentication tokens.
Solutions:

  1. Clear/Refresh your browser cache of any retained information and delete saved passwords. Then, log in again to single sign on, once you are sure your browser cache is completely cleared and you are not retaining saved passwords.
  2. In future, avoid this problem by always opening library links in a new private window. (i.e. using a browser window that, when closed, does not retain any cached browser information or passwords after you close the window.) This is also sometimes known as incognito/private browsing (Chrome).

Helpful Links:

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