Access to the university network and use of e-resources

PCs, Wi-Fi, VPN, Shibboleth

You can find a variety of electronic offers in our library: e-books, e-journals, databases, etc. Some offers are freely usable on the internet. However, many products have been purchased/licensed by the ULB Münster for the university. For legal reasons, these are only available to you if you prove your affiliation with the university, e.g. via a university IP or ID.

For library users who are not members of the University of Münster, the use of licenced e-resources is only possible to a very limited extent (see below).

Internet:
Internet use on site

Accessing e-resources:
University network / IP address
Shibboleth
Variations

External – limited access:
External users

Legal information:
Terms of use
Licences

Internet use on site

In order to use the internet free of charge on site, you can connect to the university's WLAN with your own device.

University network / IP

You can access many licensed resources by being online within the university network. University network means that the device uses an IP address belonging to Münster University (IP range 128.176.* or 2001:4cf0*).

At the university

You have the following options for using the university network here to access licenced e-resources:

via the WLAN of the university
("uni-ms" only, for university members;
not "eduroam" or "GuestOnCampus")
at the internet PCs in the ULB Central Library or also, for example, in the Medical Library, the Social Sciences Branch Library or the library in the House of the Netherlands
at computers in the institutes of the university, in the PC rooms, etc.

From anywhere

If you wish to access licensed resources on the university network from outside the university premises, you as a member of the university can set up a VPN connection.

Shibboleth

You can use licensed resources regardless of your location via Shibboleth. However, this single sign-on procedure is only set up with individual providers.

Some full-text links that lead out of KatalogPlus are automatically followed by a sign-in screen, or you will find this login option directly on the provider's website.
Log in with your university ID.

Please do not create a personal account; instead, select the University of Münster as your institution.
The terms used for the Shibboleth login and the University of Münster can vary depending on the provider:
– "Institutional Login" / "Login via your Institution" / "Login via Athens/Shibboleth"...
– "Universität Münster" / "University of Münster" / "Universitaets- und Landesbibliothek Muenster"...
If necessary, select "German Higher Education and Research" or "Deutschland [DFN-AAI]" first.

By using Shibboleth, you agree that data about your affiliation to the university (usually simply "member", possibly also e.g. "student" or "employee") is confirmed and passed on to the respective provider.

Variations

Horizon Client for using CD-ROM databases

Some databases and lexica are published on CD-ROM, which we have installed for you on virtual computers. For licensing reasons, only members of Münster University are permitted to use these databases. To use these databases online, special software must be installed – the VMware or rather Omnissa Horizon Client.

We have provided instructions on how to download, install and set up the client.
beck-online

For external use of beck-online, you must first register for beck-online in the university network and activate the 2-factor authentication. Then you can log in and search beck-online from outside the network.
Please note that initial registration for home access is best done on campus via the university network (i.e. via WLAN or on a local PC).
ProQuest Ebook Central

ProQuest Ebook Central e-books can be accessed and read within the university network, depending on their licence.

To download parts of an e-book permanently or copy a limited number of pages, you do not usually need user credentials: The first time you attempt to download a chapter, a login screen will appear, giving you an option to "Continue as Guest", among other things.

However, if you would like to download the entire book for a limited period of time, you must create a free account with ProQuest Ebook Central (at the top of the website under "Sign In") from within the university network. Once you have an account, you can also log in from outside the network.
For book downloads, you will receive an acsm file that can only be opened on your PC with special software such as Adobe Digital Editions. To read a downloaded e-book, you must first authorise your computer. An Adobe ID is required to transfer books to multiple devices, but is not necessary to read them on a single device.
Restriction to faculty

For some journals, access is restricted to the faculty. For example, some journals are only licensed for use in the IP area of the Faculty of Law.

External users

Users of the ULB who are not members of the University of Münster have limited access to the university network.

You can log in to an internet PC (e.g. in the ULB Central Library's ground floor reading room) with a login ID to access licensed resources on the university network. The easiest way to save files is to use your own USB stick.
You can also use your own device to access the internet via the "GuestOnCampus" or "Eduroam" (students from other universities) WLAN networks – however, this does not give you access to our licensed resources.

The use of licensed e-resources outside the library premises (via VPN or Shibboleth) and the use of the Horizon Client for CD-ROM databases is restricted to members of the university.

Providers with whom access has been agreed both via Shibboleth and via the university network can still be used by external users in the university network. If necessary, search for the article/book directly on the provider's website to avoid the sign-in screen that appears when you follow links from KatalogPlus.

Terms of use

The following general terms of use apply to the licenced journals:

Access to the full texts is only permitted to members of the respective institution.
The full texts of the articles may only be printed or saved for personal use and for research purposes.
Systematic downloading of articles or search results, in particular by robots, is prohibited.
Articles may not be passed on to third parties either electronically or in printed form.

As the number of simultaneous accesses is limited for some products, please remember to end your session with the "Logoff" or "Logout" button.

Licences

University of Münster licences: Licence agreements between publishers and the ULB as well as individual institutes of the University of Münster enable campus-wide online access to these publishers' products.

National licences: The German Research Foundation (DFG) finances the so-called "national licences" and thus makes it possible to use the journal archives of individual publishers throughout Germany.
National licences for individual users: Individual national licences can only be used by registering as a private individual. Information on registration

FID licences: Germany-wide access to some journals is provided as part of the "Specialised Information Services for Science" funding programme with financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and organised by the Specialised Information Services.