Many Softlink IC customers have taken advantage of our Single Sign On (SSO) module. It makes life so much easier for Liberty and illumin users. It benefits you, your staff, and your library’s users. So what is SSO and what are the benefits of using it as your authentication method?

What is Single Sign On (SSO)?

Single Sign On is an authentication method that provides users with the ability to login to the organization’s domain and access various systems without having to log in to each one.

For example, you login to a domain or your organization’s portal in the morning. When you or your library users then navigate to the library Home page, Liberty or illumin automatically logs the user in because they are already logged in to their Identity Provider (IdP).

To learn more about authentication, click here to access our fact sheet.

Does this mean no more borrower records?

No. Borrower records must be added in your Liberty system. They are linked to borrower activity such as loans, renewals, and reservations.

Library staff can automatically or manually import borrower records into the library management system from your administration system (using a CSV file) or Active Directory.
The Liberty v5 Web API can also be used to populate borrowers into your system if preferred.

What is the benefit of SSO for staff and users?

The most important benefit of SSO is that both library staff and users can be automatically logged in to Liberty without having to go through the login process again. Liberty will automatically recognize them.

For Library Users

It offers an efficient experience for library users, making it easier and quicker to access Liberty resources. No longer will they need to log into the organization, then log into the library site using a different login if they want to renew, request or reserve items.

For Library Staff

The advantages for library staff include:

• No anonymous users. This enable library staff to become familiar with their users’ activity and provide proactive assistance if it is necessary.
• Enables staff to know which users have been searching (or using search terms that failed). The terms are then recognized when users next enter that term in the Home page search facility.
• Identifying collection management requirements based on the topics searched for by users.

Deploying Single Sign On provides a smoother experience for both library staff and users. It makes accessing the library’s Home page easy, and provides library staff with a more efficient way to proactively help users and identify potential holes in their collections. To learn more, just contact us.