No more Athens!

... or how to access e-resources in future.

The LRCs pay for a wide-ranging selection of quality e-resources to support teaching and learning.  The providers of these resources restrict access to those who have paid and therefore they need to know who is trying to access the resource so only subscribers get in.

On college computers this is sometimes done by the IP address of the PC you are using.  This means you will get automatic access to the resource without having to log in.

Another way to control access is via a password.  Some resources have their own unique username and password and where this is the case the details will be on Moodle.

For other resources we used the Athens authentication system to provide access.  However, from September 2012 we will no longer be using this system.

How will this affect me?

The big plus is it means you won't have to remember another password.  Instead you will use your college username and password - the same one you use to log on to college computers.

Some resources provide a link which will take you straight to the college login box which makes access straight forward.  Others do not have this facility and what it means is that instead of looking for a login box that says 'Athens' you will look for a box that says one of the following:





UK Federation







UK Access Management Federation





Institutional login

Athens/Institution login

Shibboleth login

If you see none of these you may need to click on a small line marked 'Alternative login'

The institution name has also changed and you should login using Guildford College Open Athens Service

Once you have logged in you will be able to access other e-resources which use this type of login automatically as long as you remain on the internet.

If you run into any problems, or have any questions, please ask in the LRC.