The library is hoping to have a new method of accessing the library resources off campus. The Shibboleth System is a standards based, open source software package for web single sign-on access. It allows sites to make informed authorization decisions for individual access of protected online resources in a privacy-preserving manner. If all goes well, it should be operational in October.
The word shibboleth comes from ancient Hebrew and meant 'ear of grain'. Some groups pronounced it with a sh sound, but speakers of related dialects pronounced it with an s. In the story, two Semitic tribes, the Ephraimites and the Gileadites, have a great battle. The Gileadites defeat the Ephraimites, and set up a blockade across the Jordan River to catch the fleeing Ephraimites who were trying to get back to their territory. The sentries asked each person who wanted to cross the river to say the word shibboleth. The Ephraimites, who had no sh sound in their language, pronounced the word with an s and were thereby unmasked as the enemy and slaughtered.
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