E-resources at Mac

In order to access many of the library's e-resources from off campus, you must be logged in with your Macalester account so that the resource provider knows you are authorized to access their content. The library uses a product called OpenAthens to authenticate you. Once you have logged in, your OpenAthens session will remain active across the web for up to 8 hours, unless you clear your browser cache.

One easy way to make sure you see all of the library's full text access options for scholarly journal articles regardless of where you start your research is by downloading the LibKey Nomad browser extension. See our FAQ for more info!

There are a few ways to log in to your Mac account and begin using online library resources:

Starting from the library website

If you use the library website as the starting point for your research, you will be prompted to log in to your Macalester account the first time you click a link for a licensed e-resource. 

From the homepage, you can find resources using our Research Guides or the A-Z Databases list; you can search for books, journals, videos, articles, and more using the search box for WorldCat Discovery; and you can access the digital collections available through the Archives. 

Starting from publisher websites

Some publishers will allow you to log in with your Mac credentials directly from their site. The wording varies, but look for terminology such as Institutional Login or OpenAthens Login. If you are asked to select a federation, choose the OpenAthens Federation. You can then select Macalester College from the institution list and log in.

Starting from MyAthens

You can also begin an active session by going directly to the MyAthens portal. Choose Macalester College from the institution list and sign in with your Mac credentials. Once you have logged in, you can navigate to your preferred research starting point and access content that is available to you through the library.

Exceptions

While almost all of our licensed e-resources are authenticated using OpenAthens, there are a few exceptions. The below resources will require you to log in separately to access licensed content, even if you already have an active OpenAthens session.

• Chronicle of Higher Education: you can access subscription content without an account from on campus. From off campus, you must either be connected to the VPN or create a free Chronicle account using your Macalester email address. See our Chronicle FAQ for more information.
• New York Times: you will need to create an account with your Macalester email address. See our New York Times FAQ for more information.
• SciFinder-n: In addition to authenticating through OpenAthens, you must also register for a SciFinder account from on campus.

In addition to licensed content, the library also connects you to lots of freely available scholarly content from Open Access books and journals. For more information about the Open Access movement and the ways our library is supporting it, check out our Open Access LibGuide.