Library Authentication Tokens

You can use tokens to uniquely identify users of Books24x7 in those cases where personal identification is not desired. Tokens have been designed to address concerns over the security of our content. The use of tokens preserves the anonymity of the patron while providing Books24x7 with a rudimentary means of identifying users who violate our User Agreement.

There are two types of tokens a partner library may choose to implement:

1. EZproxy "secure" tokens, which are generated by the EZproxy software.
2. Standard tokens, used in conjunction with referring-url authentication.

What are Tokens?

Tokens are values that "stand in" for user information. In an effort to balance the library’s need for user privacy with Books24x7’s need for unique information about each user, we developed the concept of a user authentication token. The value of the authentication token is of no importance to Books24x7. The only requirements are the following:

• The token is unique for each user: the same token shall never be presented for two different patrons. A token is assigned to each patron on an individual basis.
• The token is constant for each user: the same patron will always present the same token on each visit to Books24x7. Each patron is only assigned a single token.

The use of tokens ensures end-user anonymity while providing Books24x7, and its associated publishers, with the ability to spot and curtail illegal downloading activity by an individual without resorting to shutting off an entire IP address.