The Web addresses or URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) that appear in the browser address bars of databases, e-books, e-journals or online articles, may only be temporary and often may not function several days or even a few hours later. Fortunately, many subscription databases and publishers now offer permanent URLs that allow easy incorporation into a Moodle course, SPARK course, blog, web page or email message.
Below, you will find examples of ways to include electronic library materials within your online documents.
The following examples and instructions demonstrate links which will be:
- stable over time, i.e. "persistent" and
- accessible from on and off-campus with a UMass NetID Account
If you put all your references in RefWorks, you can share the folder with a persistent URL by using the RefShare feature. The advantage of using RefShare is that you need not worry about the format of the link to an item. The UMass Library UMLinks feature provides the link to the resources. If a journal or other item changes its persistent URL, the UMLinks will automatically make the change. RefShare also has the advantage of making it easy for students and other users to export the reading list into their own RefWorks accounts.
Create a RefWorks account and compile a folder of items to share.
Within your RefWorks account, choose the "Share Folders" option under the "Folders" menu.
Click on the "Share Folder" link next to the folder you would like to share.
- In the next screen you can grab the URL for your folder. This is a persistent URL!
For an example of this, see the Readings on Information Literacy and General Education list linked from the Instructional Services For Faculty page and the AfroAm 605 Course Readings linked from the AfroAm 605 Library Course Guide.
1. Go to the Subject Research Guides directory page - http://guides.library.umass.edu/subjectguides
2. Select the guide of your choice, e.g. "Political Science"
3. Copy and paste the guide's URL into your page (http://guides.library.umass.edu/polsci)
UMLinks to Articles
In the UMLinks menu, for an article, you will now see the choice titled Save link to this article. That will lead you to a page that will let you grab a persistent URL that will take users back to the UMLinks menu with the full text. The advantage of linking via UMLinks is that is consistent across databases. If a journal, database or other source changes its persistent URL structure, the UMLinks will automatically make the change!
- Go to the Research Databases page. Select a database to find an article from, e.g. MLA International Bibliography.
- Find an article, for example: Suárez, Lucía M. "Julia Alvarez and the Anxiety of Latina Representation." Meridians 5.1 (2004):117-45.
- Click on the UMLinks button. From the UMlinks menu, choose Save link to this article (under "More options").
- Copy and use that URL. In this case:
- Thus: Suárez, Lucía M. "Julia Alvarez and the Anxiety of Latina Representation." Meridians 5.1 (2004):117-45.
Other method: Linking from a database URL
The procedure for adding a link to a journal article varies from one database vendor to another. Each database vendor requires a different protocol. For technical assistance, see The URL Clearinghouse or contact your department's library liaison. Note: You will often need to create a link that begins with the off-campus access prefix:
followed by the item URL.
The 'http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=' is the portion of the URL that delivers a UMAccess account login screen if users are visiting from off-campus.
- Go to the Research Databases page. Select a database to find an article from, e.g. Black Studies Center. (The full records in this database very clearly give a link for the Durable URL. Just copy that URL and add the library prefix to it.)
- Find an article, for example: Banner-Haley, Charles "Pete". "Myths and Truths: The Civil Rights Movement and African Americans on the Southern Tier of Upstate New York ," Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, 33:1 (January 2009), p.17-26.
- Find the persistent (or durable) URL for the article. In this case:
- Add the library prefix so students can login to the article: http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=
- The link you would use for UMass users is:
- Thus: Banner-Haley, Charles "Pete". "Myths and Truths: The Civil Rights Movement and African Americans on the Southern Tier of Upstate New York ," Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, 33:1 (January 2009), p.17-26.
1. Go to the Research Databases page.
2. Search by title or subject for the database to which you would like to link, e.g. Philosopher's Index
3. Right click (Control-click on a Mac) on the link to the database title
4. Choose "Copy shortcut" (Internet Explorer) or "Copy link location" (Firefox)
5. Paste the URL into your web page, e-mail, document, etc. For Philosopher's Index, it should look like:
Please note: The usually required 'http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=' portion of the URL that delivers a UMAccess account login screen for off-campus users is invisibly embedded in the Database Locator URLs. Therefore, links to databases you create using this method WILL produce a login screen for off-campus users to enter their UMAccess username and password.
You can create links to the Library's eReserve system from SPARK, the University's Web-based, interactive learning management system. These eReserve links can lead to the list of documents on reserve for your course or to specific documents within the Reserve list. This allows students to access documents form your SPARK site without the need to enter additional passwords! Instructions are available on the OIT website.
Start your search for an electronic journal through the E-Journal Locator.
1. Search for your journal title
2. Choose a database source from the list of options. Connect with the database offering your journal.
3. Copy and paste the persistent URL according to the protocol for that database, preceded with no spaces or breaks by the off-campus access prefix:
Please note: copying a journal title url from the E-Journal Locator WILL NOT produce a stable, persistent link.
Electronic books are available as individual items through the Library's catalog, or through some databases. The process for creating a link to an electronic book link depends on its source. The following two examples illustrate the differences.
Library Catalog search example
- Do a title search in the Five College catalog, such as Morality and Cultural Differences by John W. Cook
- Two formats are retrieved: "E-Book" and "Book." click on the E-Book link.
- In the Full View for the E-Book, scroll to the bottom and click on MARC view. From the page that follows, copy the URL on the line that is followed by the words Bibliographic record display. UMass: An electronic book accessible through the World Wide Web; click for information. The link looks like: http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=http://www.netLibrary.com/urlapi.asp?action=summary&v=1&bookid=23582.
- Thus: Morality and Cultural DifferencesPlease note: The 'http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=' is the portion of the URL that delivers a UMAccess account login screen if users are visiting from off-campus. This is included when you copy the URL from the Library catalog link.
Database example - ebrary
- Find a book in the database, such as Reading Paulo Freire: His Life & Work
- Copy the URL from the address box, in this case, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/umassa/docDetail.action?docID=10021084
- Thus: Reading Paulo Freire : His Life & Work
Please note: The usually required 'http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=' portion of the URL that delivers a UMAccess account login screen for off-campus users is invisibly embedded in the ebrary URL. Therefore, links to books you create using this method WILL produce a login screen for off-campus users to enter their UMAccess username and password.
UMA WorldCat Example
- After conducting a search, go to a particular item record.
- Click “Permalink.”
- Grab the URL.
Five Colleges Catalog Example
- After conducting a search, go to the “full view” for an item
- Click “Permalink for this record.”
- Grab the URL.
Last Edited: 12 January 2012