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Library Services

Find Help: Electronic Resources Troubleshooting

Help with common access problems

From time to time, library users may experience problems accessing online content. This page addresses common issues that staff and students face when using library electronic resources and provides basic troubleshooting tips to help resolve the issue.

Ensure you are logged in with your Cardiff Met ID

If you’re not authenticated as a Cardiff Met user, you will not be able to access subscribed content. You should always access our resources through MetSearch or the Databases A-Z to ensure you are authenticated correctly. When accessing through MetSearch, make sure that you sign in. For more help, see our guide to Using MetSearch.

Check for an Institutional login option

It may be possible to authenticate directly on a database or publisher’s website using the institutional login. Look for the login section and find an option labelled 'Institution Login', 'Sign in with your Institution', or something similar.

Select or enter Cardiff Metropolitan University and you should be prompted to sign in with your username and password.

You can usually tell if you're logged in through the library when you see the Cardiff Met logo or a message such as 'Access provided by Cardiff Metropolitan University.'

Check for any additional usernames and passwords required

Some of the resources we subscribe to require individual user registration or can only be accessed using a unique username and password. Please refer to the Databases A-Z listing or the record on MetSearch for any additional registration or login details.

Try a different browser or incognito browsing

Some databases work better on specific browsers. To test if the access error is caused by the browser you are using, try accessing the resource in a different browser. For example, if you cannot connect to the resource using Edge, try accessing from Chrome to see if switching your browser makes a difference. Check that you are using the latest version of your web browser.

You can also try opening a private/incognito browser window. For FireFox, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+P, for Chrome, Edge and Safari it is Ctrl+Shift+N.

Clear cookies and cache

Cookies and cached data can sometimes interfere with access to resources. Clearing cookies and cache can often resolve the problem.

To clear cookies and cache:

Microsoft Edge / Google Chrome / Firefox:

Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete. This will open a pop-up window from where you can delete your cookies & cache.

Safari:

  • Click the Safari menu, then 'Clear History…'
  • In the Clear field choose 'All History'
  • Click 'Clear History'

If unable to sign in to MetSearch, check if you can sign in to other Cardiff Met systems

If you can sign in to another system, such as Moodle, it means the issue is something to do with your library account or MetSearch and you should contact the library for help. If you can’t sign into other IT-authenticated Cardiff Met resources, then it’s likely there’s an issue with your IT account and you should contact the IT Helpdesk.

Ensure the library has access to the resource you’re trying to access

Verify that Cardiff Met library subscribes to the database and, if so, that we have access to the specific item you're looking for. If the Library does not subscribe to the particular journal, database or ebook, then you will not be able to get access. Most of our subscribed content can be found on MetSearch, so searching there will help you determine if we have full text access. You can find more information in our Using MetSearch guide. If you do need access to a resource we don’t subscribe to, you can place an Interlibrary Loan or purchase request.

Check the date of the content you are trying to access is within our subscription coverage

Journal subscriptions do not always grant full text access to articles from all available years. Older archive material may not be available or there may be an embargo on the most recent issues. When accessing via MetSearch or the Journal Search, date coverage is displayed in the record for each journal.

You can find more information in our guide to accessing journals and articles.

For ebooks, check the limitations to the number of licenses held by the library

Many of our ebooks have a single user licence, which means they can only be accessed by one person at a time. If you can’t access an ebook because the licence limit has been reached, check the MetSearch results page in case we have links to other providers. Even though you may not be able to access it straight away, some providers offer a reservation/queuing system which will notify you when the ebook is available.

Check our website for any known problems

Check the Databases A-Z to see if there are any ongoing or maintenance issues with the particular database. If it is an ongoing or widespread issue, we will usually post an update on the homepage of the library website.

Still need help?

If you are still unable to access the resource after trying these options, please contact us with the following information:

  • The resource you are trying to access
  • Details of the issue you’re experiencing, along with screenshots of any error messages you receive
  • Information about any troubleshooting you have already tried (e.g. checked access, cleared cookies/cache, tried a different browser)
  • Your student/staff number and email address