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Copyright and Linking Readings: Building Links

General Information

Background on Persistent Links

  • URLs that connect users directly to library database articles
  • Easily built and useful when creating online syllabi, reading lists, bibliographies and other research tools
  • Persistent links are also termed "durable" or "stable" links because the links continue to work over time (usually for months or even years)
  • Assist instructors both to comply with copyright law and to save money on the purchase of copyright permissions. Electronic articles and books accessed from USAWC persistent links are paid for in database license agreements. In effect, accessing articles by hot-linking into a library database has been pre-paid by the library.
  • Faculty, Staff, and Students will be able to access articles via persistent links almost anywhere in the world

Linking to an Article

Many databases with full-text articles provide "Persistent link" capabilities. Different databases use different means for persistent links to articles (i.e. it's not always a simple matter of copying the address from the address window of your browser). A method to find the persistent link for each database is provided below. A list of our available databases can be found on the library website.

 

Important Tips

  • Persistent URLs will generally not have the words "session ID" or "results" in the URL
  • Persistent URLs will continue to work if you delete your browser files, or if you click on them from another computer
  • Persistent URLs will continue to work if you click on them a few days later
  • Make sure your link doesn't say "menlo" or "safelink" in it 
  • Use the Link builder for the best results.

Link Builder

Stable Link Reformat Use this tool to reformat database links for off-site access.

If you have a link that looks similar to this: 10.1080/03071847.2014.927989, it is called a Digital Object Identifier, or DOI. Make sure it is preceeded by http://dx.doi.org/ before you go to Step 2.

STEP 1 - Paste URL below
 
 

STEP 2 - Click on the button below
 


STEP 3 - Copy and paste the below link into your syllabus:

Webpages that Do Not Require EZProxy

Documents from some databases are considered open-access. Go to our A-Z Databases page and change the Type dropdown to Open-Access to see the list.