Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions

Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU)

“Initially we were just looking for something that would proxy our patrons through our website. What we ended up with was so much more!”

Karen Newmeyer, Director of Library Services

The Challenge

Complex Authentication Requirements

Multiple identity sources

Faculty wanted Single Sign-On access to library resources, but implementation was complicated by RMU’s unique requirement to authenticate patrons from 3 separate sources: local network credentials (staff/faculty), G Suite / Gmail (students) and library-supported credentials (alumni, clinicians).

Resources requiring restricted access

The library’s license with UpToDate, a key resource, required secure access limited to specific academic disciplines. However, the library discovered that UpToDate wouldn’t work with their legacy vendor.

Library portal maintenance

The library was maintaining a complex library portal requiring multiple tabs to list the resources relevant for each discipline. Some resources had restricted access, frustrating users who found they weren’t authorized to use them.

Proxy maintenance headaches

Maintenance of proxy configurations soaked up a lot of effort from library staff that was better invested in supporting patron needs.

50% of patrons are remote

RMU’s online programs attract large numbers of off-campus students who need access to library resources, so it was important to find a solution that simplified remote access.

How We Helped

Access customized for patron needs

Multiple identity sources

Faculty wanted Single Sign-On access to library resources, but implementation was complicated by RMU’s unique requirement to authenticate patrons from 3 separate sources: local network credentials (staff/faculty), G Suite / Gmail (students) and library-supported credentials (alumni, clinicians).

Resources requiring restricted access

The library’s license with UpToDate, a key resource, required secure access limited to specific academic disciplines. However, the library discovered that UpToDate wouldn’t work with their legacy vendor.

Library portal maintenance

The library was maintaining a complex library portal requiring multiple tabs to list the resources relevant for each discipline. Some resources had restricted access, frustrating users who found they weren’t authorized to use them.

Proxy maintenance headaches

Maintenance of proxy configurations soaked up a lot of effort from library staff that was better invested in supporting patron needs.

50% of patrons are remote

RMU’s online programs attract large numbers of off-campus students who need access to library resources, so it was important to find a solution that simplified remote access.

“Having multiple identity providers proved too difficult for OpenAthens… LibLynx heard our cry for help and got us set up quickly and with ease.”

– Ross Sabin, Systems Administrator & IT Support

The Implementation

When Karen Newmeyer, RMU’s new Library Director, took over in January of 2016 she quickly realized that (i) maintaining proxy stanzas was eating up valuable staff time. and (ii) Single Sign-On (SSO) was needed to enable patrons to access resources using their existing RMU credentials. However, their first attempt at implementation was a major let down – their legacy vendor was unable to resolve integration issues, and Karen had to postpone their entire roll-out.

With less than a month before the start of the Winter semester, the pressure was on to find and implement a solution.

We addressed the integration issue up front by working with campus IT and G Suite’s technical team to develop a proof of concept demonstrating how we would integrate ADFS and Gmail into a single, RMU-branded login page. Next, we showed how the LibLynx user portal could deliver a more user-friendly and efficient access experience by automatically displaying a relevant set of resources for each user, based on their academic group affiliation.

After RMU’s library and IT staff were comfortable with our approach, we customized their user portal and enabled all their online resources, liaising as needed with resource providers. Our custom integrations with ADFS and Gmail provided us with the user metadata needed to build user groups and the logic required to automatically display resources and information based on academic discipline.

The end result was a modern SSO-based portal that greatly simplified access via a single entry point and delivered a personalized set of resources for each user. Best of all, offloading the maintenance of proxy configurations and the library portal leaves Karen and her team free to focus on supporting their patrons.

About RMU

Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions is an accredited academic institution established in 1998 as an exclusive graduate healthcare education provider. Based in Provo, Utah, RMU has a reputation for providing exceptional, high quality, rigorous entry-level and post-professional programs in a variety of healthcare professions.

Please contact us to explore how we can help provide your users with a one-stop service for all resources.

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