Single Sign-On (SSO) is often viewed as a simple usability feature — a way to reduce passwords and speed up access. In practice, for digital collections, SSO can play a much broader role.
In our experience, SSO supports a number of important use cases, including:
Improving public access
Researchers, genealogists, and history enthusiasts frequently move between multiple collection platforms when exploring a topic. Managing separate accounts and passwords across sites creates friction — particularly for older users, neurodivergent users, or those sensitive to cognitive load.
SSO reduces that friction by allowing users to sign in with credentials they already use, such as Google or Microsoft accounts.
This provides several benefits:
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Reducing password fatigue
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Lowering barriers to entry
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Increasing the likelihood of return visits
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Aligning with accessibility principles by reducing memory and login burden
Users are already accustomed to seamless sign-in experiences through everyday apps and platforms. Increasingly, they expect digital collections to provide the same level of simplicity.
Trusted institutional authentication
Many digital collections are accessed not through individual subscriptions, but via affiliated organisations. SSO allows access to be recognised automatically based on this affiliation. For example, Philips Exeter Academy uses Azure AD as its identity provider to manage access to The Exonian Archive.
This approach offers several benefits:
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Removing the need for users to re-register on the collection platform
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Reducing administrative overhead
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Simplifying on-boarding and off-boarding
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Replacing older IP-only or access-code systems
Related reading: Flexible Access Models to Help Bring More Collections Online
Role-based permission management
Institutional SSO enables organisations to manage roles and permissions within their own systems. For example, at Harker School, archive access can be differentiated between:
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Staff
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Current students
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Alumni
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Family members
Group membership is managed within the school’s identity system — where it already exists — instead of being recreated and maintained within the collection platform.
Verified user contributions
Libraries, archives, and cultural heritage organisations are often required to implement SSO because it supports verified participation — not just access to a collection.
This is particularly important where users can contribute to the collection, such as making OCR text corrections, adding tags, or contributing to metadata. In these contexts, SSO ensures contributors are authenticated through trusted identity providers.
This supports:
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Accountability
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Moderation
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Higher-quality contributions
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Reduced anonymous misuse
Compliance with national and government identity frameworks
In some environments, SSO is not just a usability enhancement — it is a regulatory or compliance requirement.
For example, the National Library of New Zealand uses RealMe, a government-backed identity verification service, for access to Papers Past.
Similarly, the Swiss National Library collection of historical newspapers integrates with its federal authentication system eIAM.
In these contexts, SSO aligns digital collections with national identity and security frameworks, ensuring consistency, accountability, and regulatory compliance.
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How could SSO enhance your collection?
Whether you are looking to simplify public access, modernise institutional authentication, or align with national identity standards, SSO can play a strategic role in how your collection operates and grows. If you would like to explore how SSO could be implemented within your Veridian deployment, get in touch with our team.
