Automatic sign-in to Discover

February 13, 2020

Discover now signs you into your personal EBSCO account when you enter your Massey username and password.

This means you can download ebooks, save items and searches in folders, and take notes within content without the previous system of having to create a separate EBSCO account (and remember a second username and password!).

Please note:

  • Authentication happens behind the scenes when you first log in, so you will see a blank white screen for a few seconds. This is expected behaviour.
  • If you already have a Discover/EBSCO account and you want to merge it with your Massey username and password, please contact us.

Personal Data Retention and Usage

You will be asked to accept a “Personal Data Retention and Usage” form. Data retention is needed by most of the databases and systems we use to provide access to library resources, but is now more transparent to comply with GDPR requirements. The same thing happens when you do a Google search, use social media platforms, online shopping. etc.

In Discover, the data referred to is:

  • Account Information, such as login credentials, email, and name.
  • Saved items, such as checkouts and saved searches.
  • Activity data, such as searches, retrievals, and link outs.
  • Other data, such as affiliations and continuing education.

You need to accept this form to use Discover. You can choose to do this just once; or at the end of each session you can “Remove My Data” (under “Update My Account”) and accept the form each time you use Discover. Read more about this at Why am I required to consent to EBSCO’s privacy policy before logging into my personal EBSCOhost folder?

EBSCO’s information says “you will still be able to access Ebsco’s products via your institution’s account” if you don’t consent, but that is not correct for the Massey situation, and we have asked them to amend this.

If you have problems…

You may find that initially Discover doesn’t connect well. Try this:

  • clear your browsing history, close the window, and start again
  • try another browser

If any problems persist or you have any questions, please contact us.

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