The Athens cookie
Cookies are small text fields which allow a website to remember you. You need to permit cookies to be sent and stored on your browser. They can be temporary or persistent. The Athens cookie links to the University's SPOT (Single Point of Truth) database, where the automatic authentication process takes place. The cookie does not store or transmit any personal data. Having set the cookie on your computer, whenever you log in to UEA e-resources you will be directed to the UEA Athens login screen, where you use your UEA username and password.Setting up the persistent Athens 'Institutional ID' cookie:
Option 1) From the 'Click here to set up UEA Athens Single Log in on your PC' link in the Academic tab in the UEA Portal
Video tutorial: Remote access using Athens Cookie (duration 2 min)
Option 2) From this direct link: use this link to get the cookie
NB. UEA takes no responsibility for any other cookies that may be received as a result of changing the above settings.
How do I know if the cookie is set on my PC?
When you have set up the Athens 'Institutional ID' cookie you should see the following login screens:
If the persistent Athens 'institutional ID' cookie has not been set (or has been cleared from your browser) you can use the 'alternative login' option - see below:
Logging in to an e-resource
When you are logging in to an e-resource off-campus via Athens, bear in mind that each site may have a slightly different authentication procedure. You will often need to look for a link for Athens users. If an Athens link is unavailable on the homepage of the e-resource, look for a link for 'UK Access Management Federation' (or similar wording) and select University of East Anglia from the institutional list.The logging in process puts a temporary cookie on your pc, which is deleted when you logout of Athens or end your web browser session. 'Single sign on' means you would not normally be prompted to login again during that session.
You can also see a full list of UEA-subscribed databases that are Athens-compliant by logging into the MyAthens site.
