The following have been at the root of past access problems:

Vendor technical problems

Database vendor servers occasionally go down for short periods. In such cases, wait several minutes before attempting access again.

Firewall software

Firewall software may interfere with the login/authentication that allows access to DML databases. The most common sign that firewall settings are at fault is the appearance of a database login/password page after a library card number has been successfully submitted.

You should not have to disable your firewall. Rather, enable URL referring and/or add database base URLs (ie heritagequestonline.com for Heritage Quest) to your firewall's list of approved websites. The base URL will be visible in the address bar atop the database error page.

Norton 2003 and 2004 users should follow their posted instructions. Norton 2005 users should follow these instructions. ZoneAlarm users should go to the Privacy Panel's Cookie Control panel and uncheck "remove private header information" and 'block 3rd party cookies.'

Network firewall users should contact your network administrator.

Your web browser

Dayton Metro Library databases are compatible with current versions of Internet Explorer (5.0+). Most are also compatible with recent versions of Firefox (1.0), Netscape (4.7+) and Opera (6.0+). It is recommended that you do not use the America Online Browser.

Many users have gained database access by switching browsers, particularly when shifting from Internet Explorer to Firefox or vice-versa.

Your web browser settings

* Security settings: Many of our databases are inaccessible when security settings are at their highest - check your web browser’s status under Internet Options or Preferences.

* Cookies: Your browser must accept cookies to successfully access DML databases - check your web browser’s status under Internet Options or Preferences.

* Java and JavaScript: Many databases use JavaScript or Java and, in these cases, your web browser must have Java and JavaScript enabled - check your web browser’s status under Internet Options or Preferences.

Too many users at once

A handful of DML databases have limits on simultaneous users. In such cases you'll see an error page indicating the limitation. Your delay in access should be short-lived - wait a few minutes and try again.

None of the above

If you continue to be unable to access a database, please e-mail the library.