FAQs

Who can access electronic journals?
Use of the journals listed on these pages is restricted to members of the University of Newcastle Library who are accessing them from PCs located on the University's campus, or who have been issued with the appropriate passwords where off-campus access is available.
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How do I access electronic journals?
The journals subscribed to by the Library are listed on our Web pages. Either look for the title you require in the alphabetical list or search by using the journal's title.
Once you have identified a title, click on the SFX Findit button (Findit) button to display an intermediate information page. From this you can link to the resource, by again clicking on the word 'Go'.
Links to many of our electronic journals are also available from our Catalogue. It should be noted, however, that the Catalogue does not provide such comprehensive coverage as the A-Z list.
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Do I need usernames and passwords?
Most journals do not require a username and password if you are using them from a PC on the University campus. See our Web page Off-campus access for general information, or the journal's intermediate information page for title specific information. If you are unsure please contact your Liaison Librarian.
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What do I do if it won't let me access full text?
You may find that when you click on the link for full text of an article, your access is refused. Sometimes it just says it has not recognised you as a subscriber, or it may ask you for a username/password unexpectedly. There are many possible causes of these problems. Check the following:
  1. Does our individual web page for this journal say that full text is available for the year/volume you want? Sometimes more years than we subscribe to are available on the web site.
  2. Are you trying to access it from a pc attached to the campus network? Many of our electronic journal subscriptions only permit full text access from machines which are recognised as being on the campus.
  3. Does the individual web page for this journal say that a username/password is required for it? If it does it should also tell you how to discover them.
  4. Is the title hosted on Taylor and Francis online and have you registered for their alert service? Unfortunately, this creates a cookie on your pc which the T&F service recognises and this overrides the automatic log-in to the Newcastle University account with T&F. To overcome this problem you will need to delete your existing cookies.
If none of these applies, what time of year is it? In January all the electronic journal suppliers have to update their subscription information from the various publishers and agents, and this can take them several months. It is very annoying, being completely outside our control.

If you cannot access your chosen journal, and cannot see any reason for it, do e-mail us at libraryhelp@ncl.ac.uk and we will investigate further.
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What should I do if I'm asked to accept cookies when trying to see a full-text article?
A cookie is a small piece of information that a website may copy on to your hard drive to identify when you are logged on. In some cases the performance of the website may be hindered if your PC's preferences have not been set to accept cookies. The default setting of PCs in the IsS clusters is to accept cookies, but these may be changed by any individual. If you want to enable cookies, please follow these instructions:

For Internet Explorer
From Tools, select Internet Options
Click the Privacy tab
Click Advanced
Tick "Override automatic cookies"
Tick "First party" accept and "Third party" accept
Click "Always allow session cookies"
OK

For Firefox
From Tools, select Options
Click the Privacy tab
Tick 'Accept cookies from sites'
Tick 'Accept third party cookies'
Then click 'OK'
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Can I use the UCS Dialup Service to access e-journals?
Yes, if you use dialup into the University's computer services, you can connect to the e-journals from the Library web site in the usual way. You will be able to access more journals this way than if you connect directly to the internet from home, as you will also be able to access those titles that are normally only available "on campus". See the UCS Dialup page for more details. The speed of your phone line may affect your use of the service.
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Can I use VPN to access e-journals?
Yes, if you use the VPN then you can access e-journals off-campus via your own Internet Service Provider (ISP). See the UCS VPN page for more details. Please note that not all ISPs allow the use of VPN and for keeping in touch with developments with VPNs it is recommended that users join the "dialup" mailbase list. Full details are available in the UCS Dialup leaflet.
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What if my pc is too slow/old to access e-journals efficiently?
I'm afraid it is up to you or your Department to decide whether it is worthwhile upgrading. A lot of e-journals will still be useable on old equipment, but they may be very slow to load. Some however insist on recent browser versions, to take advantage of value-added features such as animated diagrams within articles. You can always access e-journals on UCS cluster pcs or pcs in the Library.
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How do I recommend an electronic journal?
At the moment we generally subscribe to those titles where:
  • electronic access is provided free to print subscribers
  • or where transferring a subscription fron print format to electronic is cost-neutral
  • or where as a consortia we have negotiated for access to a publisher's entire electronic output at a reasonable price
Some electronic journals, unfortunately, require a considerable fee for access so we have to evaluate this in the same way as any other subscription request. If you would like to suggest the purchase of an electronic journal subscription, or that the library replace an existing print subscription for an electronic equivalent please discuss this with your Liaison Librarian.
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Can I save a PDF file?
Yes, it is possible to save PDF files so that you can work with them later.

Open the document and then click on the Save icon on the Adobe toolbar.

Click on the Drop down box to select which drive you want to Save in.

Give the document a File name. You should delete the default * but leave .pdf  e.g. article1.pdf

Ensure that the Save as type is Adobe PDF file(*.pdf)

Click on Save
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Problem opening PDFs on ScienceDirect?
Some people, mainly those using Internet Explorer v.9 and Adobe Reader v.9 experience problems opening PDFs on ScienceDirect, but there are a number of ways this can be avoided:
  • Don't just open the PDF - right-click the link and save the file. Then open the saved file
  • Don't use IE - Firefox works fine, for example
  • Amend your Preferences in Adobe. Open any PDF, then click Edit from the top, then Preferences, then uncheck the "Display PDF in web browser" box. Close
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How do I save an article to my PC when using RAS ?
Saving documents when using a RAS session:

If you are using a RAS session any files saved into My Documents will be saved into your shared file space on the network. If you then close down your RAS session you won't be able to retrieve them, because they aren't in My Documents on your home pc.

When Saving a document in RAS, if you want to access it at home, choose My Computer from the locations in the drop down menu, and then choose C$ drive.

When the RAS session is over, go to My Computer, C drive to locate the file saved.

NB. Instead of the C$ drive you could choose save the file to your USB stick .

NB. None of this will work if full access rights aren't set up in Citrix - to change these see instructions below.

Ensuring that the permissions are set up on Citrix with full rights:

Log into RAS.

Start an application (eg click Library resources, then Ejournals).

When Citrix is running on the bottom right of the task bar there will be a small square icon with a red ball in it. citrix Right click it and select Open Connection Center. Click the File Security button. Select Full Access and Always Ask Me. Ok. Close the Application (ie all the open windows except the initial RAS secure webpage (the one after you've logged in with your campus id). Then start a new application.

How do I set up my PC or laptop to use e-Journals via the internal VPN?
You may experience problems using e-Journals when connecting to the Library's website via the internal VPN.

To configure your PC to use the VPN use the instructions that are available from this page. Once you have set up your VPN connection you need to complete an additional step before connecting:
Internet Explorer users
  • Open Internet Explorer.
  • Select 'Tools' then 'Internet Options' from the menu.
  • In the window that opens, select the 'Connections' tab.
  • Select your VPN connection and click 'Settings'.
  • If the Automatic configuration boxes are checked, uncheck them.
  • In the window that opens you need to tick the box that says 'Use a proxy server for this connection'.
  • In the 'Address' box type 'wwwcache.ncl.ac.uk' and in the 'Port' box type '8080'.
  • Ensure that the box marked "bypass proxy server for local addresses" is left unchecked.
  • Click OK in each of the open windows and you can connect to the internal VPN and access e-Journals.
  • Please uncheck the "Use a proxy server for this connection" once you are no longer using the university wireless connection to allow you to connect at home.
Firefox users
  • Open Firefox.
  • Select 'Tools' then 'Internet Options' from the menu.
  • In the window that opens, click 'Advanced' and then select the 'Network' tab.
  • Choose 'Settings'
    • Select '
  • Manual
    • '.
  • In HTTP and SSL boxes enter 'wwwcache.ncl.ac.uk' and in the Port box type '8080'
  • Click OK in each of the open windows and you can connect to the internal VPN and access e-Journals

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If my question is not answered here who do I contact?
Hours of Service: Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.

Electronic Journals Team
The Robinson Library
University of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4HQ

Email: libraryhelp@ncl.ac.uk
Phone: 0191 222 3470
Fax: 0191 222 6235
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