Answered By: David Macaulay
Last Updated: Mar 08, 2024     Views: 11851

UNL Libraries online resources are available both on- and off-campus!*

If you are a student, staff, or faculty member at UNL, you can access databases, online journals, ebooks, streaming media, and other subscribed online resources from off-campus as long as you are logged into your Single Sign-On account (also known as your My.UNL or Canvas login).

If you encounter a paywalled article or other online resource (such as in Google search results, or via a link shared by someone outside UNL), the best way to determine whether we have access to it is to search for it by title in the UNL Libraries catalog. The link in the catalog record will work for both on- and off-campus access.

There are a couple of other ways you can use to check if UNL has access to an item:

  • Use our proxy bookmarklet. This will automatically reload the page through the Libraries' proxy server and provide full-text access if UNL subscribes to the online resource. (You may be prompted to log in.)
  • Install the LibKey Nomad browser extension, currently available for Chrome, Firefox, SafariEdge, Brave, and Vivaldi browsers. After a one-time setup using your UNL credentials, LibKey Nomad will show an icon to indicate when you are viewing an article that is accessible through the UNL Libraries, and provide a link to the full-text content. More information about LibKey Nomad is available here.

If you are unable to access our online resources from off-campus even when logged in, contact ASKus at 402-472-9568 or https://libraries.unl.edu/askus-1 and our staff will check to make sure your account is properly set up for off-campus access.

Former UNL students, staff, and faculty members, including retired faculty, can only access our online resources on computers located at one of our UNL Libraries locations.

Accessing Materials Off-Campus with VPN

With the switch on July 1, 2021 to the new GlobalProtect VPN system, members of the UNL community who rely on the VPN may need to take additional steps in order to access e-journals and other online resources. View your options here: https://libanswers.unl.edu/faq/348898

Non-UNL Users

If you are not a student/staff/faculty member at UNL, you can access our online resources only from within the UNL Libraries. You can get a community user card to sign onto our library computers, or you can bring your own device and access online resources through the UNL wi-fi network.


*There are just a few exceptions: Bloomberg Law is only accessible off-campus by faculty and students of the College of Law. 

Comments (2)

  1. I am a UNL graduate and current member of the UNL alumni association - how do I get access to online use of the library? Thanks
    by Phyllis on Jul 26, 2019
  2. You can use the UNL Libraries' online resources on-campus, by using one of the library computers or bringing your own laptop/tablet. Only current faculty, staff, and students can use online resources off-campus, due to licensing restrictions.
    by Anna on Jul 28, 2019