OpenAthens

OpenAthens: Single Sign-On for Education and Research

Access management system providing single sign-on to publications, databases, and online services for the education and research sectors using existing organization credentials.

What is OpenAthens?

OpenAthens is an access and identity management system designed for the education and research sectors. It provides single sign-on access to many online resources including publications, databases, and other digital services.

OpenAthens allows users from participating organizations to access subscribed resources using their existing institutional credentials. For example, a university student or staff member can sign in once with their university username and password to access journal articles, ebooks, and databases licensed by their library.

This saves users from having to sign in repeatedly to access different systems. It also enables easier management for administrators, as they can easily add or revoke access as people join or leave the institution. Usage statistics are also aggregated at an institutional level via OpenAthens.

The system is developed and maintained by UK company Jisc as a not-for-profit service. Over 1000 organizations worldwide make use of OpenAthens currently to provide streamlined resource access for their members. It integrates with common technologies like SAML and LDAP as well as linking directly to identity providers from Google, Facebook and more.

OpenAthens Features

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