Gateways for Alumni

Proquest Digital Library
for Friends of the UCSC Library and UCSC Alumni

We are very pleased to announce that this Library benefit for Friends of the UCSC Library members has been extended for another year and will continue to be available through June 30, 2010, Coordinated by UC's California Digital Library, the Friends of the UCSC Library and the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association are jointly sponoring free access to ProQuest's Research Library service to members of the Friends of the UCSC Library .

ProQuest is an electronic data service offering thousands of online journals and magazines covering a wide array of subjects. The Friends and Alumni Assocation are covering the cost for this service in order to offer it at no charge to current members this year (July 2009-June 2010). The enormous reception and success on this campus have helped ensure the continuation of the program beyond the initial "pilot" year.

Alumni must visit the UCSC Alumni Association Digital Library Program for Members site to sign up for this service.

What is included?

ProQuest Research Library is an index of more than 3900 journals and magazines, plus several newspapers. Most provide indexing beginning in 1992 (many begin earlier) and more than 2,500 titles provide access to the full text of covered articles.

• Fact Sheet (pdf)
• Titles List (pdf) - revised 07/09

(Note: The titles included comprise a good basic collection of journal articles. This resource can be supplemented, as needed, with the more extensive online services available by visiting the UCSC Library.)

Who is eligible?

UC has contracted with ProQuest to provide service to current members of the following groups:

• UCSC Alumni Association
• Friends of the UCSC Library

If you are not currently a member, you can join at any time in order to take advantage of this service.

What does it cost?

The Friends Digital Library service is free to current members of the Friends of the UCSC Library. The Library and Alumni Association are covering the licensing fees in order to provide the service to members at no additional costs.

Are there limits or conditions?

Our contract stipulates that the purpose of access to the service is only for personal use and that users will not unduly exploit the resource by using it for commercial purposes or systematically downloading portions of the database. Therefore we will be requiring all users indicate agreement to these terms before an account password can be provided. How do I sign up?

Members of the Friends of the UCSC Library can sign up by completing the required User Agreement form. The form may be submitted online or by USPS mail. See the instructions at the bottom of the form for further information.

Those who registered and received access and connection instructions in previous years can continue to use the Friends Digital Library as before. There is no need to re-register.

If you are not yet a member of the Friends of the UCSC Library you may join at any time and receive all the membership benefits, including the Friends Digital Library access. (Please note, however, that the current contract with ProQuest ends June 30, 2010 regardless of when you join.)

If you are a member of the Alumni Association, you are entitled to use this service through that affiliation and you should contact them for eligibility and enrollment information. How do I use the Digital Library service?

Once you have submitted a User Agreement, we will email you your Friends Digital Library account code, the Web address of the service, and other access information. That is all you will need. (Please save the email message with your account information for future reference.)

Point your Web browser to the address we provide and enter your account code in the "barcode" box and click the Connect button. You will start in Basic Search mode, but Advanced Search, Topics and Publications tabs at the top of the screen provide additional functions.

Support and Trouble-shooting

With more than 1,000 UCSC Alumni and Friends members registered, reported problems have been very rare, with most related to first-time connections. We have identified the following issues and solutions when trying to connect to the Proquest service:

Incomplete Link

We've discovered that a wide range of connection problems are caused by the Proquest link (URL) being incomplete, especially when clicking on the link in the email with your access information.

Some of the errors related to this problem are:

• wrong login screen, requesting User ID and password (instead of just barcode).
• Authentication Error 1007
• Authentication Error 1012

This problem is caused when mail programs wrap longer lines of text and the full URL may be broken into two lines. The easiest fix is to click on the URL below instead:

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=301&UserId=IPAuto&Passwd=IPAuto&AUID=290666

Once you have connected successfully, bookmark the address for future access. If using this URL does not resolve your problem, then it may be caused by the Proquest system thinking you have other access to its services (see below).

Other Access

The other major group of connection problems are caused by some other Proquest access being in play. In addition to the "barcode" login used for UCSC Alumni and Friends members, Proquest's other authentication methods may try to direct you to some other access. Sometimes the other access works (but is different) but more often fails. Examples of what you might see in these cases are:

• Authentication Error 1006
• Authentication Error 1007
• wrong login screen, requesting User ID and password (instead of just barcode).
• different database list (e.g. NY Times only)

(Some of these errors appear identical to those caused by an incomplete link, making it difficult to diagnose the problem. We recommend assuming that it is a link issue and eliminating that contingency first before tackling the other access issues.)

These problems can be caused by two conditions:

• location: If you are connecting from a location that has Proquest access already, this access may take precedence over your UCSC Alumni/Friends connection. In such cases, you'll see a different login screen or you will be directed straight to the search screen without any login required. This most often takes place in a work setting. The solution is to try connecting from another location, such as your home.

  In rare cases you may get Authentication Error 1006, meaning the access from that location has expired. Contact proquest@library.ucsc.edu for assistance resolving that problem.

• cookies: Browser "cookies" indicating your are entitled to other access may be embedded in your system by a previous visit to the Proquest site. (This may happen with a laptop computer that moves around.) The main symptom is the Authentication Error 1007 indicating that you don't have access via that method.

  One solution is to use a different browser, one that doesn't share cookies. If that doesn't work, Proquest recommends using their "CookieCutter" tool to fix this problem.

Barcode (access code) Refused

Barcodes are case-sensitive and must be entered exactly in every particular. Barcodes are 10 characters long; the first four characters are lower-case letters; the remaining 6 characters are numbers. (Hint: Check to see that the "caps lock" is not engaged.) If the barcode you were sent does not match these requirements or you cannot login after double-checking your barcode, contact the office that issued it. (Friends of the UCSC Library members should contact proquest@library.ucsc.edu.)

Where can I get further help?

For general assistance and training materials, ProQuest provides several sites with information that can help using their service:

• One-page Search Guide (.doc format)
• Resources for Training
• Frequently Asked Questions

For problems connecting to the service, logging in, or entering your account code, send email to proquest@library.ucsc.edu

For questions or problems with using the databases, such as search results or retrieving documents, the UCSC Library's ASK-A-LIBRARIAN service is your first call.