The most common way to fix a connection problem is to clear your web browser cache or use a different browser. It's good to try that as a first step. But of course, it's not always that easy.

Possible error messages you might encounter when trying to connect to our databases from off-campus.

When Logging In

These messages will appear after you enter your information on the Library Proxy login page.

"We were unable to authenticate you"

This means that you entered your login information incorrectly or that there is a problem with your account. You can request help by completing the Account Assistance form.

"Authentication Error" or "You are not authorized for access to this database"

This means there's a reason why you do not have access to the database. Possible reasons are:

  • You are not registered for this term or have not completed registration. Most of the license agreements that we sign only provide access for currently-registered students, or currently-employed faculty and staff.
  • You very recently registered or obtained a new Campus Card. Your information may not have been transferred to the library system yet. If you cannot log in after 24 hours, email library.services@carleton.ca to verify your status.
  • You reported your Campus Card as lost or stolen. We block such accounts to prevent abuse. This will be fixed once you get a new Campus Card.
  • You have finished your studies at Carleton. Most of the license agreements we sign specify that access is only for currently-registered students, or currently-employed faculty and staff. Carleton alumni may access select databases from off-campus. See Services for Alumni for details.
  • You are a Carleton-affiliated researcher trying to access one of the statistical databases. Our licensing agreements for statistical databases are quite stringent. Contact Data Services at dataservices@carleton.ca for more information.

Please note that most of our databases are accessible from within the library without needing to log in through the off-campus access page.

After Logging In

If you log in successfully and see an error message similar to the example below, please fill out the Connection Problems form and provide details about the page you were on before reaching the error page (such as the URL or database name).

Sample error page:

To allow /connect?session to work, your EZproxy administrator must first authorize this within the ezproxy.cfg file Within this database's section of the file, the following line must be added:

Host somehost.com

The EZproxy server must then be restarted to make this change take effect.

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