NOBLE’s Proxy Service

NOBLE makes a proxy server available at no extra cost to all member libraries.

NOBLE is running EZproxy, a program for providing users with remote access to web-based licensed databases. A list of a library’s licensed databases is maintained in a configuration file. Links on your webpage direct users to EZproxy which connects to the vendor on the user’s behalf. The vendor sees the IP address of the EZproxy server and allows access as if the user was in the library.

In order to maintain a library’s separate identity, NOBLE maintains an EZproxy server for each library. A specific IP address is assigned for use by that library. The library contacts each vendor and gives them the IP address of the proxy server. Once the vendors have authenticated the address, the library can change the URLs on their website to a specific format which invokes EZproxy.

When a user clicks on the link, EZproxy will check the user’s IP address. If it does not fall within a pre-defined range indicating that the user is in the library (or on campus), then EZproxy will handle the connection. A login page will pop-up requiring the user to enter their library barcode number and Online Catalog password. This page is completely customizable, so it can have your own library’s header, footer, help text or links, etc. Once a user logs in, they will not be prompted to log in again during their browser session. Once they close their browser, their session ends.

User authentication works by checking the user in the patron database to determine affiliation, using the City in the patron’s address for public libraries and Patron Permission Group for academics. If the user matches your library, they get through to the resource; otherwise they get a message telling them they are not authorized. The denial message is also a page that can be customized.

You can see the NOBLE proxy service in action using the links below. If you click on a link from anywhere other than the campuses of these libraries, you will see the custom login pages.

Merrimack College

Statistics

Your vendors may be able to designate this IP address as “off-campus” or “at home” for statistical purposes, so it is worth asking if you want to track usage separately. Currently, EBSCO will track the proxy connections as “remote”, but the region databases will track the proxy connections as “in library” only.

Linking to Your Proxy Server

  1. Contact each vendor that you want to provide home access to. You will need to contact vendors that you contract with and provide them with the IP address for authentication. Give the vendor the IP address of your proxy server and your library’s network addresses.
  2. Give NOBLE a list of all the products you need to proxy. We need the URLs so we can enter the vendors addresses into your proxy server’s configuration file. If these are already on a web page, just provide us with the web page address and we can go from there.
  3. Give NOBLE a list of IP addresses that do not need to be proxied. It is assumed that the NOBLE IP addresses that a library uses will not be proxied because the vendors will already be authenticating these. Campus IP ranges can be proxied or not, depending on how you have things setup with the vendor. If you don’t want students on campus to be prompted for their barcode when accessing a database, please provide NOBLE with all college IP ranges.
  4. Create links on a test web page that will send users through the proxy server. An easy way to do this is to copy an existing page that currently contains links to your databases. Links are constructed by prefixing “http://proxyX.noblenet.org/login?url=” to the URL of the product. You use the product’s in-library version of the URL if there is a choice.

    For Example:
    http://proxy2.noblenet.org/login?url=http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/

  5. Test the links. In order to test the proxy server, you need a PC that will be treated like a home user. Give NOBLE an IP address of one or more workstations that you want to test on, and we will set the proxy server accordingly.
  6. As you click on a proxied link, you will see several screens that are customizable. If you would like to make changes to the default screens to make them look more like your website and prompt users for specific information, please let us know. You can copy the page source and add your own html if you like. Just email your version of the screen to NOBLE and we will replace the default file.
  7. Once you are satisfied that the links work and the proxy screens look ok, you are ready to make the proxy server available to your users. All you need to do is update the links on your website with the proxied form of URL just like your test page. If you copied your database page to create the test page, all you need to do is rename the test page to the real page’s name. The best way to do this is:

    rename databases.html to databases_old.html
    rename proxytest.html to databases.html

    This preserves the old, unproxied page just in case.

    8. Proxy Server Addresses

    NOBLE has setup an instance of the proxy server for each library. Each proxy server has a unique IP address that can be used for database validation. NOBLE has already updated EBSCO and the Region with the new IP addresses, but you will need to contact any other vendors that you contract with and provide them with the IP address for authentication.

    Library Proxy IP Address
    Beverly proxy17.noblenet.org 209.23.242.31
    BHCC proxy16.noblenet.org 209.23.242.30
    BLC proxy29.noblenet.org 209.23.242.43
    Danvers proxy4.noblenet.org 209.23.242.18
    Endicott proxy18.noblenet.org 209.23.242.32
    Everett proxy9.noblenet.org 209.23.242.23
    Gloucester proxy15.noblenet.org 209.23.242.29
    Gordon proxy2.noblenet.org 209.23.242.16
    Lynn proxy11.noblenet.org 209.23.242.25
    Lynnfield proxy12.noblenet.org 209.23.242.26
    Marblehead proxy19.noblenet.org 209.23.242.33
    Melrose proxy20.noblenet.org 209.23.242.34
    Merrimack proxy3.noblenet.org 209.23.242.17
    Montserrat proxy22.noblenet.org 209.23.242.36
    Peabody proxy23.noblenet.org 209.23.242.37
    Phillips proxy5.noblenet.org 209.23.242.19
    Reading proxy10.noblenet.org 209.23.242.24
    Revere proxy13.noblenet.org 209.23.242.27
    Salem proxy7.noblenet.org 209.23.242.21
    Saugus proxy25.noblenet.org 209.23.242.39
    SSC proxy24.noblenet.org 209.23.242.38
    Stoneham proxy26.noblenet.org 209.23.242.40
    Swampscott proxy27.noblenet.org 209.23.242.41
    Wakefield proxy28.noblenet.org 209.23.242.42
    Winthrop proxy14.noblenet.org 209.23.242.28