Research resources
The HAW Catalogue is the main search tool for our books, journals, e-books and many other items.
Information about accessing electronic publications
HAW Hamburg's University Information and Library Service provides all users who have a valid library card with free access to numerous electronic resources.
Additional user rights, such as access via a VPN connection, are available to HAW members only (students, instructors, staff). For more information please see the descriptions of these individual services.
Accessing electronic materials while on campus
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All of the resources licensed for use as part of the University Information and Library Service are available at no cost in the HAW libraries and usually also via the HAW Hamburg academic network. This means that you can also access most electronic items via eduroam and in many HAW Hamburg laboratories.
The most direct way to access our electronic materials is via the HAW Catalogue. You can also use the items listed in this page's sidebar to access other research tools.
For technical reasons, it is unfortunately not possible to access these resources via the HAW Hamburg administrative network, either directly or via a VPN connection.
Accessing electronic materials remotely
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Most of the electronic materials licensed for use as part of the University Information and Library Service can also be accessed remotely if you are a HAW Hamburg member and log in to the HAW Hamburg academic network using a VPN connection. More information about VPN access
Another possibility is to access materials using Shibboleth access. To do this you log in using your HAW account and password, either to the Shibboleth portal at https://login.haw-hamburg.de or directly on the publisher website from your search result in the HAW Catalogue. It is not necessary to install a VPN client in this case. This service is currently under development. You can find a list of the linked publishers and more information on using Shibboleth to access electronic materials in the FAQs below.
Some materials are also freely available on the Internet. You can access these items from anywhere at any time without restrictions.
Shibboleth FAQs
What can I use Shibboleth for?
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When you work or study at home, you can access the HAW Hamburg website and some general university services via the Internet. But because some special HAW Hamburg services (e.g. databanks or e-journals) are only accessible via the internal HAW Hamburg network due to licensing issues, you can't access them directly.
Until now, the only possible solution was to connect to the HAW Hamburg academic network via a VPN connection. Another possibility is to access materials using Shibboleth access. To do this you log in using your HAW account and password, either to the Shibboleth portal at https://login.haw-hamburg.de or directly on the publisher website. It is not necessary to install a VPN client in this case.
Because the implementation of Shibboleth at HAW Hamburg is not yet fully completed, this option is not currently available for all publishers. Shibboleth can be used to access those publishers listed below under 'Which publishers and resources are currently available via Shibboleth?' We are working as quickly as possible to expand the number of publishers available.
Who can use Shibboleth?
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All members of HAW Hamburg (students, instructors, employees) can generally use Shibboleth to access the licensed services.
How do I log in via Shibboleth?
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The simplest way is to log in via the Shibboleth portal at https://login.haw-hamburg.de using your HAW account and password. You can then go directly to the website of the publisher you want to use. You can also access the full-text items from the publisher directly via the links listed in your HAW Catalogue search results.
Alternatively, you can go directly to the electronic resource you wish to use (databank, e-journal, e-book, etc.) without signing in beforehand.
Some providers will then immediately direct you to a login window. In other cases you first need to select your country (or for Germany 'DFN-AAI') and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences from a drop-down menu.
You can then log in with your HAW account and password. In some cases you will also need to enter your HAW Hamburg email address.
Which publishers and resources are already available via Shibboleth?
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Not all of the licensed publishers and resources are available via Shibboleth. This service is being expanded on an ongoing basis and currently enables access to the following:
- IEEE
- Springer
- Duncker & Humblot
- Taylor & Francis Online
- Nomos eLibrary
- Emerald Insight
- Content-Select
- Hogrefe eLibrary
- beck eLibrary
- WISO Datenbank
- Römpp Online/Georg Thieme Verlag KG
- UTB-studi-e-book
- Vahlen eLibrary
- ProQuest Ebook Central
- Brockhaus
- Statista
- Oxford Journals eLibrary
- ACS Publications
- De Gruyter eLibrary
- Hanser eLibrary
- Sage Journals
The Beck Online and Juris databanks will most likely continue to be accessible via the HAW Hamburg internal network only.
Do I also need to log in when I am on campus?
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Once you have logged in to a PC that is part of the campus network or used your mobile device to log in to HAW Hamburg's Wi-Fi network you no longer need to log in to Shibboleth.
Who do I contact if I am unable to log in?
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If you have difficulty logging in, please send an email to HIBS_Mailservice (@) haw-hamburg.de or use the contact form.