Troubleshooting Access Issues: Troubleshoot Access Issues

Here is a work around when encountering a “Bad Request” or similar error message.

1. Capture the title of the needed article.
2. Select “Resources” (top of the page in blue banner) then select Find Databases: A-Z list (See image below).
3. Find the database the article is meant to be in
4. Paste the title of article in the database search box
5. Search

If you attempt to access an eBook from the Powell Library Catalog, but the link "View eBook" (Fig. 1) doesn't take you there: 

1.  Be sure you are using your TMU email address and the same password that you use to access Self Service and Canvas.

• For more information on accessing the library's eResources go to "Access Electronic Resources".

2.  If you are using the correct username/password but you still can't get access, click on the title of the book to open the full record.

3.  Scroll down to Access Online and click Report a Broken link (Fig. 2).  This will notify Miss T. that there is a problem and she can work on getting it resolved. 

4.  If the ebook is available in another database(s), select "View eBook" associated with it/them. 

     Fig. 1          Fig. 2   

Otherwise, you can try to access the eBook by going directly to the provider's database.  Here's how:

1. Go to the brief record in the library catalog for the item you're trying to access and select the title (Fig 1).
2. Scroll down the full record to Access Online and take note of the Database associated with the item (Fig. 2).
3. Then scroll back up to the top of the page and using the "Resources" drop down menu (top left) select Find Databases (Fig. 3).
4. On the A-Z Databases page use "Search for Databases" (to the right) or use the All Database Types drop down menu and select eBooks (Fig. 4).
5. Select the link to the needed database provider and search for the desired eBook by title.

• If you include the subtitle in your search query, delete the colon. 
• If you can't find the ebook using the title, use the ISBN, which can be found in the the full record for the item (Fig 2). 

NOTE:  EBSCO eBook Collection and EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection are not the same.  You may need to try both.

Fig. 3.     Fig. 4  

If you need additional assistance, feel free to ask Miss T. (jtillman@masters.edu).

• Please be sure to include the title and author of the book. The ISBN would be helpful too, if there is one.
• Include details of what happened when you selected "View eBook".
• Include screenshots of the error message(s).

Last updated November 2021.

When you select the "Access Online", but you don't actually get the full text of the article:

1.  Be sure you are using your TMU credentials, not your Patron ID number.  The former consists of your TMU email address and the same password that you use to access Self Service and Canvas. The latter is used to sign in to your library patron account.

• For more information on accessing the library's online resources go to "Access Electronic Resources".
• For details on signing in to your library patron account see "My Account".

2.  If you are using the correct email address & password, but you still can't get access, select the title of the article, scroll down to "Access Online" and select Report a broken link. This will notify Miss T. that there is a problem and she can begin work on resolving it.  In the meantime ...

In the meantime, there are a couple of work-arounds that you can try to get the desired article:

Work Around #1

1. Go back to the brief record in the Discovery catalog and copy the title of the article. (Image 1)
2. Go back to the Web page containing the error message, (Image 2)
3. Replace everything in the search box with the title of the article and search. (Image 3)
4. If found, access the article. (Image 4)

  Image 1 Capture Article Title

  Image 2: Go back to database with error message

  Image 3: Replace error text with Title of article and Search.

  Image 4:  Access the article

Work Around #2

1. From the brief record in the Discovery catalog, take note of the Journal Title. (See Figure 1 below) -- Copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl C) 
2. From the Resources drop down menu on the top left of the page, select Find Journals. (See Figure 2 below)
3. Within Find Journals, insert the Journal Title (Ctrl V) in the appropriate search box and search.  (See Figure 3 below)
4. If the library provides access to the full text of the journal (either hardcopy or eCopy), a list with Item Details will appear (See Figure 4 below)
5. Take note of the Dates of coverage from the available sources and compare to the date of the needed article.  (See Figure 5 below)
6. Select the Journal Title -- NOT the database -- of a suitable source. (See Figure 4 below)
7. This will take you to the publication information of the Journal within the Database. (See Figure 5 below)
8. Using either "Search within this publication" or the "All Issues"  option, search for the desired article.

Figure 1 Copy the Journal Title to the clipboard (Ctrl C)

Figure 2 Select "Find Journals" from Resources drop down menu

Figure 3  Paste (Ctrl V) the journal title in the search box.

Figure 4  If the journal is available, it will be listed. 

Figure 5  Compare the Dates of coverage with the article date. Select the Journal Title -- NOT the database

Figure 6  Search within the publication or use "All issues" to find the needed article.

Contact Miss T. if you need additional assistance: jtillman@masters.edu.  Include screen shots along with the description of the problem.

Last updated November 2021.