Until now, only university members who accessed full-text articles from off-campus – for example, via ORBISplus – were required to authenticate themselves. Those on the campus were automatically recognised as university members by the full-text providers via their IP address.

This is now changing: from 29 September, authentication will always be required, regardless of location ( for temporary exceptions, see below) – though only once during a single browser session. Even if you have already logged in to Stud.IP or the university webmail, you do not need to log in again – you will be redirected directly to the provider.

Full-text articles are accessed via OpenAthens using what is known as a proxy link. In the case of the University of Oldenburg, this looks like this:

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/uol.de?url=[full-text URL]

Here, [full-text URL] is replaced by the actual address of the full text. In ORBISplus, the proxy links are already included for all licensed resources.

Example:

• Full-text URL: statista.de
• Proxy URL: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/uol.de?url=https://statista.de

The most reliable way to access the full text is via our search portal, ORBISplus. If you find an e-book or online article and, in the details view, click on ‘Online access’ and then on the ‘Full text’ button, you will be taken directly to the university login page. Once you have successfully authenticated, OpenAthens handles the redirection to the full text in the background.

Alternatively, you can generate an OpenAthens link yourself:

• Generate an OpenAthens link

Larger content providers, such as Wiley , already explicitly offer OpenAthens as an authentication service.

If this is not the case, you have the following options:

• For databases: Access the database via ORBISplus – that is, search for the database name and then open the page via ‘Online Access’.
  Example: Medline database
• Search for the e-book or article you have found in ORBISplus again and open it via ‘Online Access’.
• Use the ‘SFX@OL’ full-text button, which is displayed on many provider websites.
• Use our dynamic bookmark (bookmarklet), which you’ll find at the bottom of the following page:
  • OpenAthens Bookmark
• Use our browser add-on for Firefox (coming soon – still under development)

We will activate OpenAthens on 29 September 2026, after which it will become our central authentication service for full-text resources.

However, for a transitional period, access via IP detection will still work for numerous resources. As a result, these full-text articles can be accessed from the campus without the need for authentication.