Getting Started with CSDL & other Librarian Resources

CSDL is the best research tool for all of today’s hottest computing topics and features an unparalleled archive of invaluable research. With more than 850,000 top-quality articles and papers, the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library is the premier collection of computing periodicals and conference publications.

Researchers have come to depend on the CSDL for:

• Insights from world-renowned experts;
• Up-to-date technology and methodology analysis;
• Best practices and recommendations from industry;
• Mobile-friendly user interface;
• and immediate access to new content.

12 Magazines | 21 Journals | +9k Conference Proceedings | New Video Library

To consult with your sales representative, visit this page for their contact information. Email us at csdl@computer.org to ensure you have access to the full library or add additional packages to your subscription.

This page contains information that will assist you in receiving On and Off-Campus access. Continue reading for helpful CSDL resources.

We understand every institution has different needs. To accommodate, we offer various options to set up and incorporate our library with your other resources.

Proxy Server | RSS Feeds | Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) | Knowledge Bases and Related Tools (KBART)

Please send us your logo to upload (maximum file size 100MB) so you can ensure your patrons know that the CSDL is provided by the Library! To add your logo, please send a JPG or PNG file to adraquez@computer.org.

Configure your institution’s proxy server settings to easily access Computer Society Digital Library content.

Proxy servers should include the following domains to ensure proper access for users.

• https://www.computer.org
• https://csdl.computer.org
• https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org
• https://search.computer.org
• https://opac.ieeecomputersociety.org
• https://publications.computer.org
• https://csdl-search-api.computer.org

CSDL can also be set up with your Proxy Server (EZproxy).

1. 1. Provide us with your IP addresses/ranges of all on-campus or direct locations.

Note: Institutions using both CSDL and Xplore, need the CSDL stanza placed before the Xplore stanza.

1. Follow this link for instructions to configure your EZproxy server before continuing.
2. Your EZproxy server must have an SSL certificate installed. Follow this link for instructions on how to accomplish this for EZproxy.

A Hosted EZproxy “Include File” is available for this resource. Hosted EZproxy customers will receive automatic updates with OCLC’s latest version of this stanza.

Note: Hosted EZproxy customers in the Americas using self-service may reference the “Include File” by adding the following line to config.txt:

Back to Top

IEEE Computer Society offers RSS feeds to automatically deliver new abstracts, magazine and journal issues, and recently posted proceedings, right to your mobile or desktop.

Click on the links below to see the XML code for that feed. To set up, copy the XML URL to any RSS reader, or to a browser that supports RSS feeds. You can search for an RSS reader of your choice from your favorite Web search engine.

Back to Top

The IEEE Computer Society provides metadata for building URLs to specific journals and conference proceedings. This allows users of the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) to link directly into a publication’s page within the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL).

How to Use OPAC Linking

To create links from an OPAC record to the publication’s title or issue level in IEEE Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL), download the appropriate file from the Publication Reference File list below into your system.

How to Build a URL

The following information provides instructions for building URLs from the metadata in the CSV and XML documents.

Template Legend

Publication Reference Files

These files are generated dynamically and, upon download, contain the most up-to-date listing of CSDL publications.

• Complete list of Conference Proceedings in CSV format
• Complete list of Conference Proceedings in JSON format
• Complete list of Journal/Magazine Publications in CSV format
• Complete list of Journal/Magazine Publications in JSON format

Back to Top

The Knowledge Base and Related Tools (KBART) is a joint initiative that has been exploring data problems within the OpenURL supply chain.

Commissioned by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and UKSG, the KBART Working Group has established guidelines for the timely exchange of metadata between content providers and knowledge base developers. Their work is to improve the supply of data to link resolvers and knowledge bases, in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of OpenURL linking.

This is to be achieved by providing best practice guidelines, educational materials and events, and a web hub to act as a central resource for knowledge base information.

For more information, please visit the UKSG/KBART website.

How to Use KBART Metadata

The following fields (KBART 5.3.2) are included in both the Journal and Proceedings list:

Publication Reference Files

These files are generated dynamically and, upon download, contain the most up-to-date listing of CSDL publications.

• Complete list of Conference Proceedings in TXT (tab delimited) format
• Complete list of Journal/Magazine Publications in TXT (tab delimited) format

Back to Top

CDSL provides COUNTER-compliant usage reports for registered library account administrators. We would encourage you to get your account created as soon as you can. To create your account, please send us your active email address for the reports. Our usage reporting site can be found here, and is provided by leading usage vendor, MPS. COUNTER usage data for the current month is usually processed and ready for reporting, two or three weeks after month end.

Benefits of usage reports:

• Track usage at your institution over a monthly or annual basis.
• Identify key trends in user behavior.

About COUNTER

COUNTER is a non-profit organization supported by a global community of library, publisher and vendor members, who contribute to the development of the Code of Practice through working groups and outreach.

Publishers and vendors undergo an independent audit to comply with the COUNTER Code of Practice. Compliance is granted at the platform level, not at the product level.

How do I run usage reports on my institution’s account?

1. 1. Sign in with your username and password and go to ‘My Account’.

If you have been allocated administrative rights for your institution, you will now see your reports. If you do not see this option, please contact csdl@computer.org.

1. Click on the tab on the left hand-side, titled “Usage Reports” where you will have the ability to download usage data for your institution.

I would like to use SUSHI Harvesting for downloading usage reports, how do I do this?

The SUSHI API for COUNTER 5 works with an API KEY. If you already have your API KEY, go to the MPS insight portal (https://c5live.mpsinsight.com/ieeecs), and login with your credentials, then click to go to the profile section, then copy the API key or simply click on the API key to directly download JSON/CSV reports via SUSHI service, or you can use any 3rd party service to integrate SUSHI API to any 3rd party UI. Further instructions can be found here: : MPS COUNTER COP5 SUSHI Harvesting Guidelines.

Back to Top

Once your subscription is fully set up, it’s time to inform faculty, students, and other staff members about their new resource!

Use these helpful links to introduce them to the IEEE Computer Society:

• About Us
• Launch a Career in Computer Science and Engineering
• IEEE CS for Industry Practitioners

These resources below offer additional information on our publications and Digital Library as a whole.

• Overview of CSDL Periodicals
• CSDL for Students
• Flyer

Promote the library with these banner ads and flyers!

• 160 x 600
• 180 x 150
• 300 x 250
• 300 x 600
• 300 x 1050
• 468 x 60
• 728 x 90
• 970 x 90
• 970 x 250
• 1200 x 630
• Promotional Flyers (Printable)

Additionally, the IEEE Computer Society provides resources for authors such as “How to Get Published: Author Guidelines for IEEE Computer Society Publications”

View the video below for more information:

Back to Top

Our goal is to make research as easy as possible while navigating through our trusted publications. We have prepared various resources instructing users on how to make the most of your new resource. Our quizzes serve as a fun way to introduce users to the Digital Library while our infographic provides easy-to-understand information about the platform. Download the resources below and share them with faculty and students to help assist them while they access the Digital Library. If you’re a librarian and need the answer sheet, please contact csdl@computer.org.

• Quiz (DOCX)

• Quiz (multiple choice) (DOCX)

• CSDL Infographic

Back to Top

Citation tools (also called bibliographic management tools or citation managers) enable you to:

• • Build and store personalized collections of references
  • organize and manage these citations within folders
  • Create bibliographies
  • Automatically format and insert citations in papers you’re writing

Within the CSDL, citations may be generated and downloaded in EndNote, Plain Text, Bib TeX and RIS.

Back to Top

The CSDL Basic Search can be found on the CSDL homepage or in the navigation of all other pages. It includes a dropdown list on the left that lets you focus your search to query against Author, Affiliation, Conference, or DOI. The search engine automatically looks for plurals, different verb tenses, and British and American spelling variations. Additional language options for the video below include: Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.

How to Use Basic Search (English)

The Advanced Search lets you complete detailed queries against specific fields. You can access it by clicking the “Advanced search” link in the upper right of the search results page to switch from basic to advanced search. Additional languages for the video provided below include: Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and  Japanese.

How to Use Advanced Search (English)

To refine the result set, use the facets on the left-hand side of the page.

• Search Bar: When using advanced search, quotation marks are not needed to match an exact phrase. For example, ‘self-driving cars’ will be treated as “self-driving cars” pulling results only including content (titles*) that match the entire input. When resorting the results, the single input, in this case ‘self-driving cars’ is retained to ensure the same relevance of results is maintained.
• Category: By default, all publications are included, but you can specify conference proceedings, magazines, journals, or letters.
• Year: Search among publications from a single year or a range from 1960 to present.
• Publications: Use the filter and checkboxes to identify specific publications to search within.
• Authors: This facet displays the authors from the current search results. Use the filter and checkboxes to refine the results further.
• Affiliation: Locate articles by authors from specific institutions and companies.
• Preprints: Include papers that have been accepted for publication in magazines, journals, and letters that have not yet gone to print.
• Access: Search the full CSDL, your subscribed content, or open access (freely available).

Results from your search will appear after running the search and will include:

• A checkbox which you may mark to include this particular result in an export of results
• Title of article, author names, periodical or conference it was published in, year, volume, issue, and page numbers
• Abstract and citation links to view the full abstract or citation.

Click on an author name to see all CSDL article results from that same author.

At the top of the right-hand column, you’ll find options for the results list:

• Export: Export metadata for articles in your search results by marking the checkboxes to the left of those you’re interested in and then invoking the Export function. Selected results will be downloaded in a spreadsheet file format (CSV). If no papers are selected, the top 2,000 results will be returned.
• Limit: Choose the number of results to display at a time (10, 25, 50, or 100).
• Show Relevance: Search results are automatically sorted by Relevance. You can also choose Newest First or Oldest First.
• Show All Publications: Select whether to show results from all Computer Society publications, only those to which you’re subscribed, or open access content available to all users.

Back to Top

The Google Scholar Subscriber Links program provides convenient linking back to the authoritative source of an article in the Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL) from the Google Scholar search results page. This collaboration is a significant platform enhancement that streamlines access to purchased content for authenticated library users and ensures that your users are linking to the version of record. It helps users to identify content that is within your library subscription when navigating through (multiple) search results on Google Scholar. It will ensure that students who may not know the full range of resources the Library offers for them, connect to the Computer Society version instead of the multiple versions potentially on offer. Below, you can see an example of the Subscriber Links working; see the new link provided next to the search result. Clicking that link goes directly to the content that the user is looking for and with the convenience of not having to sign-in. This significantly improves the user experience when using CSDL.

Another benefit of this program is that it is completely free to use.

Note that only institutions with both (a) full-access to the Computer Society Digital Library and (b) IP-based access have SubscriberLinks enabled in Google Scholar. Limited-access (e.g. only Computer magazine) institutions cannot utilize the feature.

University students must be located at their university campus and on the university network (such as Wi-Fi or Ethernet) for Google to recognize that the user belongs to that university. A user’s IP address from the machine they are accessing Google Scholar must match an institution in our system. EZProxy institutions should be able to utilize Google Scholar SubscriberLinks if they have a full-access subscription. That said, we have simultaneously enabled Google Scholar CASA to reduce these limitations as best we can. For more information on Google Scholar CASA see our information page here.

Google Scholar uses holdings information to generate article links in their search results only. The information is not shared with third parties or used for marketing purposes. See Google Scholar’s usage policies.

Back to Top

CASA (Campus Activated Subscriber Access) is an authentication enhancement that improves the authentication for off-campus users of Google Scholar. CASA is free to use.

CASA Summary

• CASA builds on Google Scholar’s Subscriber Links program which provides direct links in the search interface to subscribed collections for on-campus users.
• CASA is automatically enabled for all customers that participate in Google Scholar Subscriber Links program.
• No action required from libraries to enable.
• No action required from users to enable. CASA linking will initiate automatically when users come to the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library from Google Scholar.
• Provides a token for up to 90-days access to the IEEE Computer Society remotely.

How Does CASA Work?

For the User

• Step 1: Visit Google Scholar while on-campus and authenticated via IP or remotely connected to the campus network using VPN. Google Scholar records an affiliation between your device (laptop, mobile phone, desktop, etc.) and your institution.
• Step 2: Find an article through Google Scholar, and if it’s available from the IEEE Computer Society, click the link to “computer.org”.
• Step 3: Next time, when you use the same device to visit Google Scholar while off-campus, Google Scholar will remember that you have Institution-based access to a certain library of articles and will work with the Computer Society Digital Library to deliver convenient one-click access to those articles.

Note: If you are logged-in to your Gmail account while using Google Scholar on-campus or while connected to your campus-VPN, Google Scholar creates an affiliation between your institution and your Gmail account. Later, when you are off-campus, Google Scholar will grant the same Subscriber Links conveniences to all of your signed-in devices as if you were on-campus. CASA will also work without being signed-in to a Google Account, but just on a single-device.

If the article is not available via CASA, it may be very new and not indexed yet. If so, wait a couple of days and try again.

For the Librarian: CASA-enabled access will show up in your COUNTER reports like any other institutional access. CASA uses only institutional subscription information. No individual private information is used. So CASA is GDPR compliant as it does not capture, convey or store any personal data about the researcher. Google’s privacy policy covers CASA as well.

You can disable off-campus access links on the Google Scholar settings page. Once off-campus access links are disabled, you may need to identify and configure an alternate mechanism (e.g., an institutional proxy or VPN) to access your library subscriptions while off-campus.

Back to Top

Content Preservation

For electronic backup and preservation of access to journal content in the case of certain trigger events, IEEE partners with Portico, a not-for-profit “dark archive” that preserves digital publications, including IEEE Computer Society articles. Visit Portico to learn more.

Learn more about Portico Content Preservation

Back to Top

Please find the full Terms of Us for the IEEE Computer Society HERE.

Back to Top

Obtain the latest IEEE Computer Society Digital Library Agreement by contacting csdl@computer.org

Back to Top

Download the latest IEEE Computer Society Accessibility Conformance Report WCAG Edition.

• https://ieeecs-media.computer.org/media/marketing/csdl/csdl-vpat2025.pdf

Back to Top

Email purchasing inquiries, questions, and support requests to csdl@computer.org

Back to Top

Sign up for CSDL Brief, a monthly newsletter delivering the best and latest articles and research.

Back to Top