Beginning in mid-August, everyone accessing HOLLIS’s electronic resources will need to use their University personal identification numbers (PINs) in place of their nine digit University I.D. numbers.

The change, which applies to resources like the database LEXIS-NEXIS and the journal storage system J-STOR, is part of a move to tighten electronic security in the libraries and the University as a whole, according to library spokesperson Beth S. Brainard.

“It helps us meet the contractual agreements [limiting access to Harvard affiliates] that we have with the electronic publishers,” Brainard said.

To ensure that all students and faculty will be able to use the new system, the University intends to send reminders to everyone who does not have a University PIN before the change takes effect on Aug. 19—two days after the end of the summer school session.

The changes will only affect those logging into the system from outside the libraries. Computer workstations inside the library will continue to be PIN-free.

This spring the University instituted a new process by which a PIN can be requested via a secure delivery system using email in addition to the traditional means of receiving a new PIN by mail. Both can be requested at www.pin.harvard.edu.

The PIN, which has been used by students primarily to access their grades or view their termbill online, will be expanded in the coming years to ensure a secure way for students, faculty and employees to verify their identity, according to David R. Wamback, manager of information and identification services in Holyoke Center.

Wamback said the University is moving towards implementing the PIN in more situations so that students and employees will not have multiple passwords which might be forgotten or compromised.