Create "persistent/durable links"
to databases & articles
Would you like to link directly to a library database or an article from a library database on your course web site?
Linking to a library database is pretty straight-forward. Simply go to the library's Databases pages, find the database you want to link to, and right-mouse click to copy the link location. Then paste that link location into your web page. You must copy the link location from our Databases pages because those linked addresses provide the gateway by which on or off-campus users are verified.
Online databases require a login from off-campus.You can get login info HERE. (What does the login page look like?)
Linking to an article from one of the library databases is a bit more tricky. Some database companies such as EBSCO provide what they call a "Persistent Link" to their articles. Other databases may call it a "Durable Link." These persistent/durable links usually appear in the citation portion of the article. Here's an example of a persistent link to an EBSCO article from their database Academic Search Complete:
- http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=5356632&db=aph
To link directly to this article from your web page, you need to convert the link (URL) so that users can be verified off-campus.
- 1. To use the library's URL
converter...
- 2. Paste (or type) the article's persistent/durable URL:
- 3. Click Go
- 4. Copy and paste the new, converted URL into your web page
The new, converted URL from the persistent link to the EBSCO article above looks like this:
TIPS:
1. Converted URLs should appear on one complete (loooong) line. If there are any line breaks in the converted URL, then there is a space somewhere in your pasted address. When you copy/paste URLs into the URL converter, make sure there is not a space at the beginning of the address, before the http.
2. If you are access a database from off-campus, the persistent or durable link to an article within that database may already be configured for off-campus access! If a durable or persistent link within a database includes "hermes" at the beginning of the URL, then you can simply copy and paste that URL into your page without using the URL converter. Hooray!
3. If you do not find any link labeled as "durable" or "persistent" in the citation, then you might be able to use the URL that appears either in the address box of your web browser or somewhere else in the article's description. Paste that URL into the converter above and then paste the converted link into a web page to test it. Always check your converted links from off-campus to make sure they work!