Overview
JoVE organizes its content into various journals and collections (e.g., JoVE Journal, JoVE Education, JoVE Visualize). Your institution may subscribe to only some of these collections. As a result, some content may appear in the catalogue but cannot be opened or viewed if it is not included in your institution’s subscription.
Audience: Students, instructors, and library patrons encountering access restrictions in JoVE
Context / Where This Applies: On the JoVE platform (JoVE.com or JoVE video pages), when browsing content libraries that list videos/articles not included in an institution’s subscription
A. Why can I see a video or article in JoVE but cannot open it?
Answer: The content you are trying to open is part of a JoVE journal or section your institution has not subscribed to. In the JoVE catalogue, available content may be visible for discovery even though your access rights don’t include that collection. The system will allow browsing, but will block playback or article access until subscription rights are present.
This is common for institutions that subscribe to only some JoVE collections instead of JoVE Unlimited.
B. How can I confirm what my institution does have access to?
Answer:
Sign in to JoVE using your institutional credentials.
Go to My JoVE (usually under your name/profile icon).
Select the JoVE Access tab.
Sections that are subscribed to are highlighted; those not included are greyed out.
You will only be able to open content included in your subscription. Please refer to this link JoVE | Peer Reviewed Scientific Video Journal - Methods and Protocols
C. How can I confirm what my institution does have access to?
How do I check which collection the video I am trying to add is a part of my subscription?
You can check the video page itself. At the top of the video, you will be able to see the content type and collection it belongs to (for example, Research, Education, or Business). This helps you determine whether the content is included in your institution’s subscription.
D. I need access to specific content — what should I do?
Answer:
Contact your institution’s librarian or library support to check whether a subscription to that specific JoVE journal (e.g., Journal, Education, etc.) can be expanded.
E. Does this mean my login or authentication is incorrect?
Answer: Not necessarily. If you are able to log in and view content listings, your authentication is working correctly. The restriction you are seeing occurs because the content you selected is not included in your institution’s licensed collection. This is expected behaviour for a partial subscription and is not an error with your login. Please feel free to contact your library, or please contact us at support@jove.com if you would like further assistance.
Troubleshooting
If you expected access but still can’t open content:
Please double-check that you are signed in with your institutional email.
Kindly ensure you are either on campus or connected via your institution’s VPN/remote access/SAML/SSO if off‑campus.
Confirm the content should be included in your access via My JoVE > JoVE Access.
We’re here to support your every step because your success and seamless experience with JoVE matter deeply to us.
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