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Troubleshooting Frequently Asked Questions

Administration of eHLbc licenced resources as well as Technical Support and Patron Support is primarily provided by librarians at member organizations. The FAQs below and training guides are recommended to get you started with the different levels of support and training available to administrators. Would you like to suggest additional troubleshooting problems or FAQs? Email your suggestions to office@ehlbc.ca!

Connectivity Issues

Connectivity problems, such as slow databases or occasional issues connecting to a resource, are usually temporary and related to your current internet connection.  If you're consistently encountering slow database connections you may want to contact your Technical Support department, the vendor or eHLbc to explore the problem.

  • Check your Internet connection. It may be a temporary connectivity issue with your internet connection and the database. Try accessing other resources and internet pages. If you're having trouble with all the resources it may be a temporary internet problem.
  • Every database from this vendor has issues. If you're having problems with only a particular vendor, EG. EBSCO, they may be experiencing temporary issues with their service. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for additional information and assistance.
  • Only one database has connection issues? If you're having consistent slow connection problems with only a particular database please contact the vendor or eHLbc for additional assistance.
  • What browser are you using? You may want to clear your browser cookies & cache and re-start your browser to resolve the problem. Try a different browser (EG. Firefox, Internet Explorer) as some browsers such as Safari and Chrome may have connection issues with a variety of databases. More information on your browser and connection settings (Internet Explorer ; Firefox ; Chrome ; Safari).
  • Do you have a firewall? If your organisation has a firewall you may experience consistent problems with on-site access. Please contact your Technical Support for additional assistance.
  • Check-out EBSCO's Connectivity Troubleshooting Help Sheet for additional information on common problems.

Access Issues

Access problems, such as unavailable full-text resources or database access, may be related to connectivity issues, access errors, authentication issues or licensing restrictions.

Authentication Issues

Authentication problems, such as forbidden or unauthorized access errors, may be related to access errors, authentication issues or licensing restrictions.

  • Off-site access issues? If your patrons are experiencing off-site access messages such as "Forbidden Access" or "Unauthorized access" check on-site access to the resources to start. If on-site access is working check your off-site authentication method, EG. Ezproxy or Username/Password logins for issues.
  • On-site authentication issues? Check that your IP addresses are currently up-to-date with the vendor and eHLbc.
  • Off-site Ezproxy authentication issues? Check that the Ezproxy URL is appended correctly to your database URL and other patron logins work with the resources. You also may need to update the vendors with the IP address of your Ezproxy server. Contact your Technical Support department for assistance or check-out the OCLC Ezproxy Support guide to start.
  • Off-site Referrer URL authentication issues? Check the eHLbc Referrer URL Set-Up and Troubleshooting Guide.
    • Please note: with browser changes, it is no longer possible for the eHLbc Admin Centre to provide effective troubleshooting support for Referrer URLs. If you would like additional assistance, please view EBSCO's FAQ, contact EBSCO Support, or speak with your IT department.
  • Off-site Username/Password authentication issues? Check that your on-site access works with the other resources to start. Administrators may need to update the Username/Password logins in EBSCOAdmin and OVID Admin. Contact eHLbc for additional assistance.
  • Browser issues? Certain authentication methods and databases (EG. OVID Anatomy and Physiology Online (APO) and Primal Pictures) may encounter authentication issues with particular browsers. We recommend using Firefox or Internet Explorer instead of Safari & Chrome as they may have authentication issues. More information on your browser and connection settings (Internet Explorer ; Firefox ; Chrome ; Safari).

Licensing Issues

Access or authentication issues may actually be related to licensing restrictions.

  • Simultaneous user restrictions. Some eHLbc resources have simultaneous user restrictions. It is very uncommon for the resources to reach this limit but please try again later if you receive a simultaneous user limit error message. Check the Subscription Options notes on that particular resource for additional information regarding the number of simultaneous users allowed. If you consistently receive this error please contact eHLbc for assistance.
  • Currently active license but unable to access a database? Occasionally errors are made by the vendor in granting or expiring active database licenses. Check the License Details and Participating Institutions sections for additional information on that particular resource. Please contact eHLbc for assistance in restoring your access to currently licensed resources.
  • Database access expired? Check the License Details and Participating Institutions sections for additional information on that particular resource as you may no longer have access to that resource. Contact eHLbc for additional assistance.

Common Questions with Answers & Solutions

Q: Why can't I connect to the eHLbc databases?
A: There are many reasons you may have issues connecting to a database including connectivity, access, authentication & licensing.

a) Solution: It may be a temporary connectivity issue with your internet connection and the database. Try accessing other resources and internet pages. You may want to clear your browser cookies & cache and re-start your browser to resolve the problem. Try a different browser (EG. Firefox, Internet Explorer) as some browsers such as Safari and Chrome may have connection issues with a variety of databases. More information on your browser and connection settings (Internet Explorer ; Firefox ; Chrome ; Safari).
b) Solution: Contact your Technical Department to check for current issues with internet access.
c) Solution: It may be a misconfigured URL access issue. Check the URL of the resource and the eHLbc Custom URLs and JumpStarts guide for assistance in updating your access links. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for additional assistance.
d) Solution: If you're using the resources on-site it may be an authentication issue. Check that your IP addresses are up-to-date in EBSCOAdmin and with OVID.  Contact eHLbc to update your list of IP addresses.
e) Solution: If you're using the resources off-site it may be an authentication issue. If you're using Username/Password logins update them in EBSCOAdmin and OVID Admin. If you're using Ezproxy check with your library technical support and the OCLC Ezproxy Support guide for assistance.
f) Solution: It may be a licensing issue if access to the database is no longer available. Check the License Details and Participating Institutions sections for additional information on that particular resource or contact eHLbc for assistance.

Q: Why can't we access the full-text of an article or journal title from the database or our A-to-Z?
A: There may be multiple reasons that full-text of an article or journal title isn't available including licensing issues or errors in access.

a) Solution: Only some resources have full-text availability. Check the Journal information page for Full-Text access information including restrictions and date/access embargos that may be in place.
b) Solution: Publishers sometimes remove full-text content that was previously available. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for additional information on content that may no longer be available.
c) Solution: If it appears that access to full-text should be available check for other recent full-text articles in that journal title. There is often a few months lag from the publisher with certain titles. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for additional assistance.
d) Solution: If you believe that an article or journal title should be available but it isn't displayed in the database or your A-to-Z check with the vendor or eHLbc as there may be an error in the content display. Please contact us with the citation and database information when requesting additional assistance.
e) Solution: If the journal title is a new resource check that you have auto-updates for new titles activated in your EBSCO A-to-Z. You will need to contact EBSCO directly to add any missing journals as titles unfortunately are not retro-actively added after auto-updates is turned on.  Please contact eHLbc if you would like assistance.
f) Solution: If the full-text item is just not available we recommend you contact your library for additional assistance or to request the item via Inter-Library Loan from another organisation.

Q: Why are the databases so slow?
A: This usually is due to connectivity problems related to your internet connection and is often temporary. Occasionally this is related to issues that the vendor is having with their service.

a) Solution: It may be a temporary connectivity issue with your internet connection and the database. Try accessing other resources and internet pages to see if they are also slow. Contact your Technical Department to check for current issues with internet access.
b) Solution: It may be a temporary issue with the vendor. Check other article databases supplied by that vendor. If they are all slow or experiencing problems contact the vendor directly for more information or to open a case ticket with them. Contact eHLbc if you would like additional assistance with this.

Q: How many simultaneous users can access each database?
A: It depends on the licensing restrictions for that particular database.

a) Solution: Check the Subscription Options notes on that particular resource for additional information for simultaneous user restrictions. Contact eHLbc for additional assistance.

Q: Do we need to contact the individual vendors directly to update our IP Addresses?
A: Depending upon the vendor you may be able to update your IP addresses via an administrative interface. Please also contact eHLbc to update your listed IP addresses.

a) Solution: For EBSCO resources you can update your IP addresses via the EBSCOAdmin interface. Please contact eHLbc if you would like assistance with this.
b) Solution: For OVID resources you must contact OVID Technical Support directly to update. Please contact eHLbc if you would like assistance with this.
c) Solution: For additional resources please contact the vendor or eHLbc for assistance updating your IP addresses.

Q: We can't update our IP address(es) in EBSCOAdmin or our A-to-Z Admin. Why do we receive the "The IP address is already assigned" or duplicate IP address error?
A: Vendor systems do not allow for duplicate IP addresses to be entered.

a) Solution: Check with your Technical Support that the IP address(es) you are trying to enter are correct.
b) Solution: Another Organisation may have entered your IP address into their site profile in error. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for assistance with resolving the problem.

Q: The article database recognizes my patron as the wrong Organization/Institution.
A: This is usually related to authentication issues.

a) Solution: Try clearing browser cookies & cache and re-start your browser to resolve the problem. Re-connect to the database and check if the Organisation information is updated.
b) Solution: Another Organisation may have entered your IP address into their site profile in error. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for assistance with resolving the problem.
c) Solution: Update your database custom URLs or jumpstarts to direct patrons to the correct Organization. Check the eHLbc Custom URLs and JumpStarts guide for assistance in creating these links.

Q: We're having issues exporting/emailing records or title lists from our databases.
A: Check the Advanced Training Guide for assistance to start. Contact the vendor or eHLbc for additional assistance.

a) Solution: We can only export/email 200 records from OVID for use in Refworks or our title lists. Contact OVID Technical Support directly to raise this limit up to 10,000. Due to browser and connectivity limitations OVID recommends a limit of 2,000 records only. They also recommend using Firefox or Chrome (not Internet Explorer) when emailing and exporting records. Please contact eHLbc if you would like assistance.
b) Solution: We'd like a list of titles from our Organisatonal A-to-Z.  You can download title lists from your Title Wizard --> Download/Upload option in your EBSCO A-to-Z Admin. Check the flash EBSCO A-to-Z and LinkSource Title Wizard Tutorials for more information.
c) Solution: We'd like a list of titles or MARC records from a particular EBSCO database.  Check the Database Title Lists option available in EBSCOAdmin.
d) Solution: We'd like a list of current full-text titles available from eHLbc. Please contact eHLbc for assistance.
e) Solution: We'd like MARC records for OVID's journal titles or JBI books. Login with your OVID Admin login and follow the instructions in the How to Download MARC Records in OvidSP (PDF) guide.

Please contact eHLbc if you have additional questions or would like assistance troubleshooting.