Athens Authentication Information
Athens Authentication Information
IADT Library has a number of electronic resources. These can be accessed directly on IADT Campus or off campus using Athens (an access authentication solution).
Click here to access My Athens
Below contains a number of guides on how to access this service.
Guide to Athens Self-Registration
To use the Athens access facility you need to apply for a username and password for this service. This can be achieved through self-registration which can be accessed by clicking here >>
Guide to Resetting Athens Passwords
If your IADT Athens account is due to expire within 30 days or has expired no more than 90 days, please re-register your account here. This will allow you to keep accessing the Library's electronic resources that are licensed by IADT.
User Guide to Athens
1. Accessing online services
You may already have been told which resources you can access using your Athens personal account. If not, you can find out by checking your account details in MyAthens, the Athens user interface.
MyAthens can be accessed at http://www.athensams.net/myathens where you will be required to login with the personal account username and password. This will display the account and administrator details and the list of online resources you are currently permitted to access. Clicking on the name of the resource will take you to the login page on the data service provider's web site.
When you try to access a resource protected by Athens, you will be asked to enter your Athens username and password. If you enter these details correctly (the password is case sensitive), you should be allowed to connect to the resource and start searching the database, etc.
A personal account enables you to access all the resources you are entitled to use from any remote location (wireless campus, home. etc).
If your username and password are rejected, Athens will return the message 'Incorrect login', or a more specific error message. Some possible reasons why this might happen are explained in Section 5 below.
Please note that your session in the MyAthens area will time out after five minutes of not being used.
2. Your Athens Administrator
Every Athens account is looked after by an administrator. Your administrator is the Systems Librarian - Helen Wybrants - who is able to check on the status of your account. You can check your administrator's contact details on the page displayed when you log in to MyAthens.
3. Your Athens account details
Details about you and your account are recorded on the Athens system. You can check your personal details and the properties of the account (e.g. resources available to you, expiry date, etc) on the page displayed when you log in to MyAthens.
Your personal details are kept confidential; in particular, they will not be disclosed to the data service providers (the owners of the resources protected by Athens). If any of them are incorrect, please contact your administrator.
Providing the correct email address is very important as it enables administrators to contact users when their accounts are about to expire or when a new resource has been added to the list (this varies from site to site as administrators have their own procedures). If you know that you need to use your Athens account after its expiry date, you should contact your administrator and ask for the expiry date to be extended (provided you are still a member of that site). If you would like any other details of your account to be changed, contact your administrator.
4. Changing your password / adding to you toolbar
You may change your password by selecting the password link on the Account Details box in MyAthens. This will display a form where you will be asked to enter your current password and then the new password in the boxes labelled Account Password and Password Confirm.
An Athens password must be between 6 and 20 characters long (the maximum length is 20 characters). It must contain at least one letter and at least one character which is not a letter (e.g. tvwxy12 or 1234ab). Apart from letters and numbers, the following characters are permitted: ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + | } { ~ \ " : ? <, . / ; ' ` [ ] - =. Note that the password is case sensitive.
You might like to consider adding the 'MyAthens' Toolbar to your own browser. To do this follow the instructions to be found in the following link: http://www.athensams.net/toolbars/
5. Troubleshooting
If you are having problems with your account, here are some possible reasons why your username and password might not work:
- Entering the wrong username or password
You may have entered either your username or password incorrectly. Note that your password is case sensitive.
If you have forgotten your password, you must contact your administrator. The administrator will not be able to tell you what your password was, but will be able to issue you with a new one, which you can change later (see section 4 above). - Account expiry
Your account may have expired. Contact your Athens administrator who will be able to determine if this is causing the problem. - Account has been deleted
The account may have been deleted, some accounts are only valid for one year and are reset on a yearly basis (this varies from site to site). Please contact your administrator. - Not allowed to access resource
If authentication fails while you are trying to access a resource protected by Athens, it may be because you are not allowed to access the resource (especially if you have not tried to access this resource before and you have successfully used your Athens account in other ways). Check your account details in MyAthens to see if the resource appears on the list that you are allowed to access.
If the resource does not appear on that list then you are not entitled to access it but you may like to check this with your administrator.
If the resource appears on the list but you cannot connect to it, contact your administrator.
6. If you move elsewhere
Athens accounts are specific to a particular Institute. If you move to another Athens Institute and need to use resources protected by Athens, you should obtain a new Athens account at your new location from the Athens administrator.
If you change status or department within IADT, you need to contact your Athens administrator. Depending on how Athens administration is organised at your account, you may need a new Athens account, and if not your administrator will need to amend the details of your account.
Terms & Conditions
Individuals are issued with a MyAthens user account on the grounds of their entitlement to access resources available to the issuing organisation.
The MyAthens account should only be used for the purposes of the normal business of the organisation.
The MyAthens username and password is strictly confidential and should not be shared with anyone else.
Access to resources is conditional on users abiding by the licence conditions of each resource.
Any abuse of licence conditions may lead to withdrawal of access via Athens.
Personal information relating to the account may be used by Athens or the issuing organisation solely for the purpose of the administration of the account. Use for any other purpose may be a criminal offence under the terms of the Data Protection Act.
The full Terms and Conditions for Athens Account Holders are available for download on request.
Tell us what you think
If you have any queries relating to Athens, or to report details of particular access problems, or to share your ideas for how we can improve these pages, please contact the library.
FAQ's (frequently asked questions)
My account has expired - what should I do?
If your course has finished or you have left the institute then you are no longer entitled to a MyAthens personal account, and your access will cease.
If you are a current student or member of staff and your access expires - then you just need to re-register - email: mailto:lilrc.08@iadt.ie
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How do I access or change the details of my personal MyAthens account?
You can access the details of your MyAthens personal account logging in to MyAthens at http://www.athensams.net/myathens.
You may change your password by selecting the password link on the Account Details box in MyAthens.
If you want to change your email address you need to tell your local Athens Manager so they can update your MyAthens account.
Please contact Helen Wybrants - email - mailto:helen.wybrants@iadt.ie
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What happens if I forget my personal MyAthens password?
If you forget your password you need to email the library at mailto:lilrc.08@iadt.ie
You can change your password at any time from your personal MyAthens page.
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Can I use my MyAthens personal account when I'm on campus?
Yes, but you will not need to use it in most cases to access databases on campus.
You can use your personal account from any computer with access to the World Wide Web.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE ON CAMPUS AND USING THE WIRELESS FACILITY YOU WILL NEED TO USE YOUR MYATHENS LOGIN CREDENTIALS
