Off-campus access
Stanford Libraries offers e-books, article databases, streaming media services, and musical score collections that you can access as a Stanford student, faculty member, or staff member. However, when publishers or content providers don’t recognize your Stanford affiliation, you might encounter a paywall. This situation can occur for a couple of reasons – you’re off campus, or on campus but not connected to the Stanford Wi-Fi network. When you install the browser extension Lean Library, electronic resources within Stanford Libraries' subscription portfolio will be detected automatically, even when you’re not on Stanford’s Wi-Fi network.
Lean Library
Simply download and install Lean Library to access content anytime and anywhere.
Download the Lean Library extension
Lean Library is only active when you visit a website that has content licensed by Stanford Libraries. It’s compatible with all modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera, and it is pre-configured to provide automatic access when an article is licensed by Stanford Libraries.
Customization
You also have the option to customize Lean Library or deactivate it and use it only when needed. Whenever you come across an article you are interested in, click the Lean Library extension pinned to your browser toolbar to determine whether it is licensed content.
Privacy
For questions about your privacy, or data collection/retention, please reference Lean Library’s privacy policy.
Experiencing difficulties or questions?
- Clear your browser’s cache and cookies or use an incognito/private browser window.
- Check Libraries' system status for known outages.
- Install and enable Stanford’s Virtual Private Network (VPN). A few databases still require VPN. In order to use the VPN, download the client for your operating system - PC or Mac, and then follow the instructions to use the full traffic (non-split-tunnel) VPN connection.
- You may also report an electronic resource connection problem.