Affiliated hospital access to McGill e-resources

Changes as of July 1, 2013

As of July 1st, 2013, access to McGill electronic databases, e-journals and other e-resources has changed at McGill affiliated hospital sites in order to comply with the McGill University Library's licensing agreements. Currently, all persons working in McGill affiliated teaching hospitals are able to access the McGill Library's electronic resources. However, due to the very strict licensing agreements, only those persons affiliated with the University are, in fact, authorized to use these services. As a result, future access to these electronic resources will vary depending on your status.

• If you are affiliated with McGill University as a faculty or staff member, or as a resident or student, you will continue to have access to the full range of McGill University Library e-resources. However, beginning July 1st, 2013:
• You will be asked to enter your McGill username and password, using the format firstname [dot] lastname [at] mcgill [dot] ca, or firstname [dot] lastname [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca. If you are unsure whether or not you are affiliated with McGill or if you need information about activating your McGill email account, please see the FAQs, Nos. 10 and 11 (link below).
• Note: You can easily access McGill Library e-resources using the appropriate link on the McGill Library website, available on the Health, biological sciences subject guides.
• If you are not affiliated with McGill University as a faculty or staff member, or as a resident or student, please note that you are not authorized to access McGill Library e-resources, as per the licensing agreements with the vendors. Therefore, beginning July 1, you will no longer be able to access them. However, as is currently the case:
• You may request McGill materials via the hospital's inter-library loan service.
• You also have access to the e-resources licensed for use by the hospital and/or your unit.

For more details, see the list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What hospital libraries do the July 1, 2013 changes apply to?

   Libraries at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, the Jewish General Hospital, the McGill University Health Centre, St. Mary's Hospital Center and Shriners Hospitals for Children® — Canada.

2. What exactly is changing?

   Beginning on July 1, 2013, access to McGill Library electronic databases, e-journals and other e-resources is changing at your hospital site in order to comply with the McGill University Library's contractual licensing agreements.

   If you are affiliated with McGill as a faculty or staff member, or as a resident or student, you will be asked to log in using your McGill username and password to access the electronic resources.

   If you are not affiliated with McGill as a faculty or staff member, or as a resident or student, you will no longer have access to McGill's e-resources, but will continue to have access to McGill materials via the hospital's inter-library loan service, as well as the e-resources licensed by the hospital and/or your unit. Get information on borrowing from the McGill Library.

3. Why this change?

   The licenses contracted by the McGill Library cover only McGill faculty, staff, residents and students. They do not (and have never) include employees of teaching hospitals who are not faculty, staff, residents or students of McGill. McGill must comply with the licensing agreements in place.

4. Who do these changes apply to?

   All those who access McGill Library e-resources must be aware of the changes taking place July 1. Your access will vary depending on your status, as described in No. 2 above.

5. Could coverage not be extended to the hospitals?

   Options were discussed, practices at other hospitals and universities were reviewed, and legal opinion was sought. The licensing agreements in place are consistent with institutions across North America. An extension of coverage would cost millions of dollars.

6. How does it work at other hospitals and universities?

   Hospitals typically pay fees to get access to electronic resources – usually via a consortium – and do not have access to all the e-resources of the university.

7. Are other options being explored for the future?

   The McGill affiliated hospital libraries have set up a consortium and are exploring the purchase of a selection of databases for their users. Speak to your hospital librarian for the status of this initiative.

8. Are these changes part of budget cuts?

   No. This is a long-standing situation that is unrelated to budget cuts. The vendor is requiring that McGill comply with the licensing agreements in place.

9. Won't this impact our services?

   As mentioned earlier, non-McGill users will continue to have access to a number of databases provided by the hospital, including UpToDate, a clinical support tool. It is also important to note that users also have full support of the hospital librarians and access to inter-library loans.

10. How do I know if I am "authorized" to have access?

    You are authorized if you are individually affiliated with McGill as a faculty or staff member, or a resident or student, and are eligible for McGill "credentials," i.e., a username and password.

11. I am affiliated with McGill but haven't set up my email account. What do I do next?

    If you have McGill credentials, please review the detailed instructions below. They outline how to activate your McGill email address, as well as how to set up an automatic forward to another preferred account that you use on a daily basis, if desired.

    • STEP 1 - McGill ID Number
      You must have your 9-digit (numeric) McGill ID number on hand. If you do not remember your McGill ID number, please contact the administrator in your particular division to whom McGill has sent your ID information.
    • STEP 2 - Email Activation
      Information on how to activate a McGill email account may be found here.
      Please note that only you can request email activation since it involves the use of your McGill ID number and your confidential Personal Information Number (PIN).
    • STEP 3 - Email Redirection
      If you prefer to use another email address, then you should arrange to have your McGill email redirected to this other address. Information on how to change the delivery destination of a McGill email address may be found here.

    For further Information: If you need assistance with either of these processes, contact the ICS Service Desk at 514-398-3398. You will need your McGill Staff ID number when you call.

12. Where can I get more information?

    Librarians at either the McGill Life Sciences Library (lsl [dot] library [at] mcgill [dot] ca) or at your hospital will be pleased to provide further information and to answer your questions about these changes.

13. Will McGill faculty/staff/residents/students (i.e., authorized users) be required to log in with their authorizing credentials to access McGill Library electronic resources even while on campus (e.g., from computers located in McGill Libraries, or from their laptops via the Wi-Fi on campus, etc.)?

    McGill Library resources will no longer be accessible via the IP addresses of the computers attached to the McGill network in the hospitals. As of July 1, IP addresses at hospital sites will be removed, cutting access to resources. McGill IP addresses will remain intact therefore a McGill authorized user who is on campus (downtown or Macdonald) will still be able to access library e-resources without having to login with credentials.

14. Will authentication be required each time an authorized user goes to the McGill Library suite of e-resources or will authorized users be required to log in for each individual e-resource they wish to access?

    Yes, authentication is required, but only one log-in per session will be needed in order to access any of the McGill Library e-resources. Reminder: In order to authenticate, you must first navigate to a licensed resource such as an e-journal, database, or online book through the library’s website.

15. If all resources will require a log in after July 1st, even when on campus, how will you prevent non-authorized users who visit a McGill Library to access e-resources?

    The Library's license agreements allow walk-in visitors to our McGill Library branches to access e-resources. This will not change. Because the hospital libraries are not part of the McGill University Library system, non-McGill walk-in users to the Hospital Libraries are not eligible for this guest access.