Off Campus Access

for university members

To access the library's e-media and databases as a member of the university off campus, a few technical requirements have to be observed. Follow these steps to start using the library wherever you need it. On campus, connect as usual using Eduroam or use your staff PC.

Initial password for students

With your enrollment documents you will receive an initial password. This is used to create a RHRK account.

Set up VPN access

Because of licence regulations many services and web pages are only accessible within the networks of the RPTU. In order to be able to access these services from off campus, the University Computing Centers offers access via the so-called "remote access (VPN)". An encrypted tunnel is built from your own device to the RPTU and your data will be securely transmitted. Via this tunnel your device gets an IP address from the address range of the RPTU, so that internal resources are also available by any external internet connection.

  • Use the setup instructions of the University Computing Center for your operating system. Please make sure to create a profile for “full tunnel” during installation!
  • If you have further questions contact the Service Center of the RHRZ.

How to get started in the library

Now you have access to our e-books, e-journals and databases. You will find them like this:

  • E-books & e-journals: The easiest way to access our e-media is searching in our catalog Katalog+. As all media of the library are listed there, both printed and electronic, it is often helpful to use limiters. You can search for specific topics or individual documents. In the full record view of a document, you may find a link to the full text. 
    No registration in Katalog+ is required to access e-media!
  • Databases: You can find our databases via the database information system (DBIS) (content in German language only). Here the databases are sorted according to subjects. The search function can be used to find individual databases. For subjects taught at the RPTU, there are integrated lists of important databases. In DBIS you will find additional instructions for use.
  • For further information sources, please have a look at our section Literature search.

Specifics

Even if most e-media or databases are accessible via the VPN access, there are exceptions.

  • Access via Shibboleth: Shibboleth is a method of authentication. First select your home institution (RPTU Kaiserslautern - Landau). In the next step enter your RPTU credentials. You will receive a corresponding note in DBIS.
  • Spatial Restrictions: For legal databases such as "juris" and "beck-online" only on-campus access is possible.