As a Hopkins researcher (student, staff, or faculty), you probably need to get to library resources from off-campus. This is easy, once you know how!
Your simplest and best choice is the Proxy. The Proxy is easy to use, because it doesn’t require any downloads, updates, or installations. All you have to do is start at a library web page and click on the resource of your choice. You’ll be asked for your JHED login and password and then sent straight to the resource. This login should last a few hours, and you’ll be able to move back to library pages and to other databases or online journals that the library subscribes to. We consider this the preferred method for accessing library resources.
Another option is the VPN software, available through the portal’s myJHED tab. This is software you need to download and install on your computer. To run the program, click on the JHSecure icon and login with your JHED information. The one benefit to VPN is that you can bookmark journals and databases and return to them without navigating through the library pages. The downside is that if you have the VPN running and do start from a library page, you end up invoking the proxy and logging in again. And sometimes the two systems send your computer into a tailspin.
For reminders, just see Connecting from Off-Campus or Proxy FAQs.
The Proxy is convenient but I have found that the VPN is better for connecting directly to electronic resources. For instance, I am able to connect to the OED or read the subscription-only articles from the Chronicle of Higher Education without having to link to them from the catalog.