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ExLibris Aleph and the OpenAthens redirector

This guide will help you configure Aleph to use the OpenAthens Redirector.

Whilst our service desk will always try to be helpful, they can only support the OpenAthens end. Information was correct at the time of writing.

Prerequisites

  • Access to your Aleph admin pages

  • Access to the OpenAthens administration area at the domain level

Method

Look up your redirector prefix

Access the administration area as the domain administrator and navigate to the redirect link generator (Resources > Redirector link generator).

Pop-up window titled 'Redirector link generator'. Advisory text reads 'Redirector URLs can be created by adding (example URL) as a prefix to the target URL, or using the tool below'. Following that are a text field labeled 'Enter target URL' and a button labeled 'Generate link'. There is a 'Close' button at the bottom of the window.

The part you are interested in is the bit like this: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/yourdomain.com?url=

Even though the redirector is not a proxy, we can use the redirector prefix in a similar way as a proxy prefix for compatible resources:

Option 1 - via your link resolver

If you use a link resolver to power Aleph linking then enabling the redirector there will be the far more efficient method.

See: the link resolvers section

Option 2 - hard coded links

Unfortunately there is no simple prefix field in Aleph so your options are to manually update them one at a time, or use their bulk function as covered by them at: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Aleph/Knowledge_Articles/Global_change_of_EZ_Proxy_URLs_in_856_tags