Understanding IP-Based Access for Institutions

For university libraries and research institutions, seamless access to digital resources is critical. At Opars, while our standard delivery model provides lifetime access via account downloads, we recognise that many institutions prefer a campus-wide authentication method.

What is IP-Based Access? This service allows students and faculty to access purchased Opars collections directly through your library catalogue without needing individual usernames or passwords. If a user is connected to the university network (on-campus or via proxy), our system automatically recognises the institution’s IP address and grants immediate read access to the texts.

Off-Campus Access (EZproxy) We fully support remote access for students and staff working off-campus. Because our system authenticates the IP address of the incoming request, it is compatible with standard proxy servers such as EZproxy or OpenAthens (in IP-forwarding mode).

Simply include the Opars domain in your proxy configuration stanza, and your users can access materials from anywhere in the world via your library portal, appearing to our system as if they are on campus.

Service Details & Pricing This is an optional, premium service designed for institutions hosting large collections.

• Annual Platform Fee: There is a small fee per annum referred to as APF. Renewals are invoiced annually in November.
• Trial Period: We offer a 14-day trial period. No payment is required during this phase to allow you to test technical compatibility with your network or proxy server.

The Volume Waiver To support our active institutional partners, Opars applies a waiver rule. If an institution’s purchase volume reaches £1000 within a calendar year, the APF for the subsequent year is waived.

Technical Requirements To utilise this service, your institution must:

1. Complete and sign the Opars Institutional Agreement.
2. Provide a list of static IPv4 ranges (CIDR notation preferred) including your proxy server IPs.

How to Apply If you have already purchased titles and wish to upgrade to IP-based authentication, please contact us to request the Institutional Agreement form. Once signed, our technical team can typically configure access within 48 hours.