Session Abstract

The end-to-end experience of authorization and access, from the user and/or the library to the publisher, is often considered less than ideal. The STM Association and NISO have been convening conversations via the Resource Access for the 21st Century (RA21) project, bringing in a variety of publishers and libraries, to discuss how to improve the user experience and provide a more seamless access experience to patrons, while also providing greater control and analytics over network activity. These conversations have been underway since mid-2016, focusing on shared potential alternatives to IP-authentication and building momentum toward testing alternatives among publisher, system vendors, and library partners. This session will include information on several emerging pilots that are exploring different approaches to key aspects, such as improving the "Where Are You From (WAYF)" user experience or defining user attributes to support more granular usage reporting while still preserving user privacy. The goal of these pilots is not to promote any specific platform, but instead to develop a set of best current practices in the space of access management.

This session will introduce the project and pilots, and will be followed by an interactive audience discussion of the opportunity, institutional readiness, and potential next steps