Off-Campus Access to Library Resources
Only current Caltech students, faculty, and staff have remote-access privileges to Caltech-licensed library resources.
JPL staff: please contact the JPL Library (library@jpl.nasa.gov) for available options.
You are a remote user if your IP address falls outside the range 131.215.*.*. This includes Caltech offices at CSO, IPAC, LIGO, OVRO, and Palomar.
Step 1: Obtain an up-to-date access.caltech account.
- Click here for comprehensive information on access.caltech accounts.
- Please contact IMSS if you have forgotten your access.caltech username, password, or both.
- If you have not used your access.caltech account recently, update your account.
Step 2: Use links on the library web pages.
- Links on the library web pages are proxied. When clicking on a proxied link for the first time in the session, remote users are prompted for their access.caltech username and password. One successful login establishes access to most Caltech-licensed resources.
- Links not obtained from the library web pages are, most likely, not proxied. Therefore, always start on library webpages when working remotely.
Step 3 (Optional): Establish a VPN Account.
- Click here for information about VPN accounts and installation of VPN software.
- VPN is important for remote use of Beilstein/Gmelin and/or SciFinder Scholar.
- Use the “Caltech-Tunnel All” option.
- VPN slows down connections to all IP addresses. For most library resources, proxied links are the preferred method.