All students, those undertaking a Cambridge awarded course, and University staff will be able to access University eresources including ejournals, ebooks and datasets.
To be able to access eresources, you need:
1. A University account (formerly called RAVEN). This account should have been set up for you prior to the start of your course/contract. If there are any issues, please email the College IT team.
The login for this will be your CRSid followed by @cam.ac.uk
e.g. ab123@cam.ac.uk
This is followed by the password associated with that account login.
NB: it is important to remember that although the login looks like an email address, it isn’t one. Nor can you substitute this login with an email address i.e. ab123@gmail.com or use login details you use elsewhere i.e. PACE VLE. You cannot use your Jesus email either, e.g. ab123@jesus.cam.ac.uk as it will not work.
You will have received an email from the University at the start of your course with details on how to activate your account.
Information about this can be found on the Student Registration Exercise page.
Staff can contact their local IT team for support if they need it.
2. To have set up multi-factor authentication (MFA).
MFA gives you a secondary layer of security, in addition to the login/password details of your University account, and is now required when accessing University resources.
This system is part of the Microsoft-based suite of desktop/laptop and network software, which is used across the University.
You will find further information about MFA on the UIS MFA page.
NB: It is important to remember, when using MFA, that you are authenticating to University of Cambridge. MFA is quite common now and users might be using it for other services i.e. Facebook logins, email accounts and other institutional logins, which have their own versions of the Microsoft suite of software.
NB: If you have a University account (formerly RAVEN) and are not able to access eresources please email the Raven helpdesk in the first instance.
Now you have your account set up, you can start accessing eresources. There are a few ways this can be achieved.
1. iDiscover. This is the Cambridge University Libraries discovery tool, and it will enable you to locate all physical library resources across Cambridge and give you access to ejournal and ebook titles as well.
NB: If you are having problems logging into iDiscover with your University account, please be aware that this is not actually required when accessing eresources. Simply use the search facility in iDiscover (without logging in at all) and then enter your University credentials (see section A below) when prompted to do so by the eresource you are trying to access.
Logging in to iDiscover gives you access to circulation/borrowing services (such as MyLibrary account) and functionality that allows you to request and recall items. It is dependent on you having an active patron account on the UL’s library management system.
Please email reader registration at the UL for further information regarding patron accounts.
2. Eresources@cambridge This is the primary webpage for accessing all Cambridge eresources including ejournals, ebooks, databases, newspapers, search tools and browser extensions such as LibKey Nomad and Lean Library.
If you don't want to have to think about whether you’re on or off campus or whether you are on a library website, we strongly recommend you install either the Lean Library (for books) or LibKey Nomad (for journals) browser extensions – or both.
These tools have been specially designed and are subscribed to by Cambridge University Libraries, so that you can automatically re-route your links through the EZproxy service.
Once installed, you will only be required to make a single University/Raven login for each new browser session.
3. Directly accessing a resource. If you know we subscribe to a particular resource, you can also access this direct via a web search.
To do this you might have to follow the institutional route to access it.
When you follow the link for the resource you are wishing to access, if a University login page doesn't first appear, a login will be required. You will need to find and click on a login link that will be identified by one of the following:
a. Click on the Shibboleth/Institutional Login link.
b. Under the "please choose your institution's location” section, click the down arrow and select UK Access Federation Management or UK Federation and click Go.
c. From the list that appears select University of Cambridge as your institution: you can search for it.
d. The normal University account login process will then start, and you should enter your normal login credentials including MFA (multi-factor authentication). Please see the UIS MFA page if you require further information.
You can also email the UIS helpdesk if you need further support.
e. You will be returned to the resource start page and the words Logged in via University of Cambridge will now appear at the top right-hand side of the screen.
You are now ready to use the resource.
Referencing electronic resources can be complicated. If you need any help, email us and Sarah, our Assistant Librarian (Academic Services) will get back to you, or ask your departmental library for subject-specific help. Cite Them Right is extremely useful for all sorts of item types, particularly online resources.
The key pieces of information you need when referencing eresources are the DOI or URL and the date when you accessed it, in case there are updates. Take the link from the eresource and not iDiscover. Look for the persistent link on the page rather than using the link in the address bar. Here is an example:
Accessed August 28, 2025. DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9...
Cambridge University Library
For all eresource access issues please email the Raven helpdesk.
NB: If you see the message "File missing: docs/deny.htm" contact the helpdesk above in the first instance.
For problems with specific resources we should have access to, please email the ejournals team.
NB: This helpdesk will look at all ejournal, ebook and database resource issues.
You can also test that your University account's access to e-resources is working with this eresource Test page.
NB: There are times when accounts can be compromised and if your access has been suspended, the above test page will tell you.
University Information Services (UIS)
The main UIS helpdesk: You will find support for all services managed by UIS, plus a range of helpdesks supporting services across the University.
Unless otherwise stated, this work is licenced under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence by the University Library, Cambridge.
