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Permalinks or Permanent URL Links

What is a Permalink?

Permalinks allow users to retrieve specific information by clicking on a persistent URL.  This allows users to link directly to information found in the library databases, such as articles from newspapers, magazines or journals.  A permalink or persistent URL does not change.

Permalinks are also called:

  • persistent identifier
  • stable link
  • durable link
  • permanent link

What happens when you use a Permalink?

When you click on a permalink from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your Regis username and password before you are granted access to the linked information (usually an article from a database).  Once you enter your username/password, the link should bring you directly to the article.

Why should I use a permalink?

Copyright is the main reason.  You can link to an article in a database without worrying about copyright, but you cannot always copy an article and post it to Moodle without obtaining copyright permission.

Another good reason is that when you link to an article, the database keeps statistics about how often it is being retrieved. We use this information when making decisions about keeping or adding journals and databases! 

Database Permalinks

Each database vendor sets up their own permalink, which may be labeled in various ways.  See the particular vendor tab for how to access permalinks in those databases.

Once you have created a permalink, remember to test it from both on-campus and off-campus.

Temporary Links

Why not just use the URL from my browser's address bar?

These URLs are generated for one session only and they will expire once you log out.  They cannot be copied and used as a link to find the information at a later time.

Warning about Full Text!

When you select an article for use in an online class, make sure the full text of the article is included!   Having a permalink does not mean that the full text is available; you can have a permalink to an abstract as well.