Cambridge University Press (CUP) is working with OpenAthens to upgrade and improve the existing implementation of OpenAthens authentication for Cambridge Core and other online resources from Cambridge.

From Tuesday 25 July 2017, Cambridge Core and other Cambridge University Press systems will be fully integrated with the OpenAthens Federation via Shibboleth.

Although every effort has been made to minimise the impact of this transition on administrators and end-users, a number of important changes – affecting (1) the set-up of accounts in the Cambridge Core system, (2) the login interface for authorised users of organisations in the OpenAthens Federation, and (3) linking – should be noted.  These are discussed in detail below.

1. Changes to the set-up of accounts in the Cambridge Core system (registration of organisation identifiers)

Cambridge University Press has worked with OpenAthens to determine the identifiers of all organisations in the OpenAthens Federation that have previously registered an Athens ID with Cambridge, and these identifiers have been added to the relevant organisational accounts in the Cambridge Core system in preparation for the upcoming changes.  As a result, all institutions that currently benefit from OpenAthens authentication should already be enabled when the upgraded system goes live, without any intervention from the account administrator for that organisation being required.

Administrators from all organisations – including those that are not yet benefitting from access via OpenAthens or Shibboleth – can register, check or update organisation identifiers directly, at any time, in the administrator-only Access and Authentication area in Cambridge Core.  WAYFless URLs can also be generated in this area.

Any queries or concerns regarding the set-up of access via the OpenAthens Federation should be sent to CUP Academic Technical Support (academictechsupport@cambridge.org).

2. Changes to the Select an identity provider or WAYF display

From 25 July 2017, a new entry (‘OpenAthens Federation’) will appear in the Federation list on the Select an identity provider display, or WAYF (‘Where Are You From’) interface in the administrator area of Cambridge Core. Administrators can access this by going to the Cambridge Core home page at www.cambridge.org/core and clicking Log in, and then clicking the Log in button that appears under the Institution Login heading.  Users who select the OpenAthens Federation on the Federation list will be able to select their home organisation from the associated Institution list.

These users will be directed to the OpenAthens log-in interface, and, if they are already logged in, will be redirected back to Cambridge Core (or to the homepages of other Cambridge online resources that they are attempting to access), and granted the appropriate entitlements.  If they are not already logged in, they will be prompted to do so and, following the submission of valid credentials and successful authentication, will be redirected back to the appropriate Cambridge content.

The direct link to the OpenAthens login page that appears at the top of the Institution Login screen (‘If you are an OpenAthens user, please proceed to the OpenAthens Login page’) will be retained.

3. Linking

From 25 July 2017, OpenAthens Federation organisations should use the Redirector link generator (provided by OpenAthens) to generate deeplinks to content on the Core platform.  The Redirector tool can be found by OpenAthens administrators by selecting ‘Redirector link generator’ on the Resources menu.  For more information please see https://docs.openathens.net/display/public/MD/Redirector+link+generator.

Administrators from OpenAthens organisations are advised to update links that may already be present in library catalogues, web pages or other resources.

From 25 July 2017, all users following non-updated links who successfully authenticate will be directed to the Cambridge Core homepage, regardless of whether or not a target is specified in the original deeplink.  Regrettably it is not possible for Cambridge University Press to retain and honour the original target URL when redirecting deeplinks which are not updated.

Once again, if you have any queries or concerns regarding the set-up of access via the OpenAthens Federation, please contact CUP Academic Technical Support (academictechsupport@cambridge.org).