Remote Patron Authentication

[June 14, 2002]
The Remote Patron Authentication, or RPA, product from epixtech gives DALNET members a way to authenticate their users for off-campus access to restricted web resources. To accomplish this, both authorized users and protected resources are identified and linked in the RPA configuration. Once a patron authenticates, the appropriate authorization information is relayed to the protected resource and the user is granted access.

DALNET's most widespread use of RPA has been in the MiLE project. Once authenticated, users are granted access to URSA and can request items from other participating libraries. The University of Detroit Mercy and Oakland Community College also use it to allow off-campus access to their subscription databases. Currently, DALNET is investigating how we might use RPA to coordinate access to Library of Michigan sponsored resources for our members. We also encourage members with a need for this type of authentication to contact us to explore how RPA may fit into your services.

For some members, the stability of RPA has been a concern. Many different processes are required for RPA to work and when any one fails, the entire product does. This was very frustrating particularly for our members launching the MiLE project. Through the work of George Marck and Negib Sherif, a carefully configured script now continuously monitors each of these processes. In the event that one of these fails, the script will completely restore RPA functionality. Since this implementation, RPA performance has been much more stable.

Another issue of concern for MiLE participants was the existence of leftover RPA cookies that caused confusion in the communication between RPA and URSA. If a patron Quit URSA and attempted to re-login before the previous RPA session expired, they were sent to the wrong login page and unable to access URSA. DALNET solved this problem by developing a script that removes the previous session's cookies and routes users to the correct login page. This script also eliminates an intermediary "Choose your home library" page and reduces the number of clicks for patrons.

The latest RPA enhancement offered by DALNET is the opportunity for each member to customize their login page, similar to how they customize their WebPACs. When RPA launched, each member was required to use the default login interface. It is now possible to create a login page that appears seamless to the rest of your site and/or includes member specific information.

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