Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Health Sciences and Technology Library: Remote Access

• Access to Virginia Tech resources are determined either by being on a recognized IP range, using a VPN account that is recognized as a Virginia Tech access point, or authenticating with PID or username and password through the library's off campus sign in service (ezproxy.lib.vt.edu is in the URL).

  • These databases and resources will have the following icon: 

• Some resources are restricted to persons with a VTCSOM affiliation.

  • These databases and resources will have the following icon: 

  • If you believe you should have access but are not able to get into the resource, please contact us at fbrilibrary@vt.edu so we can check our systems for who has been granted permissions. 

• To access online resources remotely or when off campus through the University Libraries, you must be affiliated with Virginia Tech (PID/username & password, 2-Factor) 

  • If you are not affiliated with the university, you are able to access online resources using an onsite computer, such as the public terminal located within the VTCSOM Library or one located in the main campus library, Newman Library.

If you need help, contact us at fbrilibrary@vt.edu for assistance.

What is Ezproxy?

• Ezproxy is a service the library embeds on all of its webpages to provide seamless access to online resources.  You will see "ezproxy.lib.vt.edu" in the URL to many of our resources. One way to make sure you always have access when you are offsite is to start at any University Libraries website page, such as:

  • https://guides.lib.vt.edu/fbrihstlibrary

  • https://lib.vt.edu/

• Once you access a resource, you will be asked to confirm you are affiliated with Virginia Tech (sign in with your PID/username, password, and 2-factor authentication) in order to access subscription-based content when off site. 

What is Get VText?

• If the database does not provide immediate full text access to a resource you found, look for the "Get VText" icon.  Click the icon to automatically search the library's holdings to locate a copy:

• If you are using Google Scholar, set up your "library links" to include Virginia Tech​ and the "Get VText" links will appear on the right hand side, which will grant you access to the library's online collections when you're off campus. Here is a 2 minute video on how to set that up.

• You can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) account through the university’s PulseSecure service

  • Information on how to do this at https://onecampus.vt.edu/task/all/installing-pulse-vpn

  • Additional FAQs on how to set up your VPN to work with our vendors is available at: https://ask.lib.vt.edu/faq/272024 

LibKey Nomad is a browser extension that assists with access to library resources. It's our replacement for LibX. The Chrome and Firefox browser extension

• provides one-click access to articles from both journal publishers and aggregators like EBSCO and ProQuest
• uses Unpaywall and other sources to open access articles
• links to ILLiad to request articles not available through our subscriptions via interlibrary loan
• uses the university's standard authentication method so no credentials are cached in your browser like some third-party tools do

Simply install the extension. During the installation process, you'll be asked to identify your library; simply search for Virginia Tech.

How to use LibKey Nomad

Publisher pages

If you use Google or Google Scholar (that has not been configured to show Get VText links) , you can be directed to publisher's pages for articles, but since you did not go through the library's links for theses services, you haven't been authenticated and you'll be asked to pay to access the article. With LibKey Nomad installed, you'll see a popup that will authenticate you to allow access.

PubMed

On PubMed search result pages, you'll see links to articles and PDFs, plus links to view all the articles in a journal issue through BrowZine.

This 2 minute video will help you get your LibKey Nomad browser extension up and running.