Creating persistent, permanent or stable links

When connected to a database, e-book, e-journal or online article, the URL that appears in the browser address bar may only be a temporary address that might not function several days or even a few hours later.

Fortunately however, many subscription databases and publishers now offer persistent URLs that can be used in myCourses, Web pages or email messages.

See the Accessing Online Resources page for instructions on how to access persistent links.

On this page:

• Creating persistent links to the Library Catalogue
• Creating persistent links to databases
• Creating persistent links to articles

Creating persistent links to the Library Catalogue

To create a persistent link to a record in the Library Catalogue

1. Locate the detailed (full) record for your document in the Catalogue
2. Right click on the "Right click to bookmark this page" and select "copy shortcut" from the drop down menu:

Note: This will create a persistent link to the brief record (even though the bookmark feature is accessed from the full record).

To create a "canned" search into the catalogue using, e.g. a Keyword in Subject search

1. Go to the Advanced tab, select Keyword in subject from the drop-down menu, enter your search term and click Search
2. Copy the resulting URL
3. Remove the characters in the URL that appear between http://catalogue.mcgill.ca/F/ and ?func= to create a persistent URL AND
4. Remove anything that appears after the search term (e.g. tornadoes):
   • This link
     http://catalogue.mcgill.ca/F/41P6RYN524LMNIIIP2IIJ4K33CL7CCK
     B7HIDKRLDADG7VLNAN8-03277?func=find-a&find_code=WSU&
     amp;request=tornadoes&request_op=AND&find_code=WRD&
     request=&request_op=AND&find_code=WCL&request=&
     request_op=AND&find_code=WTP&request=&request_op=AND
     &find_code=WLN&request=&request_op=AND&find__op=AND
     code=WYR&request=&request&find_code=WYR&request=
     becomes
   • http://catalogue.mcgill.ca/F/?func=find-a&find_code=WSU&request=tornadoes

Creating persistent links to databases

To create a persistent link to a resource in the eResearch Gateway

1. Locate your resource in the eResearch Gateway
2. Right click on the title and select "copy shortcut" from the drop down menu

For example, the URL for the MLA International Bibliography may appear as http://mclink.library.mcgill.ca:8331/V/S9GVY85MI3567FR5M3U9PILUJ6YQBKXC7...

However the persistent URL is http://mclink.library.mcgill.ca:8331/V/?func=native-link&resource=MTL01735

Creating persistent links to articles

Many of the Library's full-text article databases provide persistent link capabilities. Unfortunately however, publishers and aggregators use different means to create persistent links so is not always a simple matter of copying the URL when viewing an article online.

Creating links using a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)

The most frequently used permanent link is the DOI or Digital Object Identifier. Similar to ISSNs or ISBNs, a DOI is a standardized method for identifying an electronic object. Publishers are increasingly using DOIs to uniquely identify articles, book chapters, or any other "objects" in their databases.

Look for the DOI or "doi:" in the bibliographic record or the article full text page. The format for a DOI looks something like this:

To create a link using a DOI

1. Copy the DOI provided on the document
2. Open the hyperlink dialogue box in Word
3. Insert the following prefix in the Address box: http://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/
4. Paste the DOI after the prefix.

For example, if the DOI for your document is
doi:10.1016/j.jinteco.2004.07.002
the hyperlink would be
http://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2004.07.002

Publisher persistent links (PURLs or PPURLs)

Some publishers and database providers provide their own permanent links to articles that can often be found with the citation information for the article. Carefully examine the bibliographic record and look for clues such as "permanent link to this record", "stable URL", "durable link", "linking options for this record", etc. Ovid Online labels its persistent links as "jumpstart". Just remember to be sure to add the prefix http://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url= to the PURL.

To create a link using a PURL

1. Highlight the PURL, copy it and add the prefix http://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=
   
   e.g.
   
   http://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/log...

OpenURL links

OpenURL links that generate an SFX menu are persistent however, accessing the document through the FindIt menu means more clicks for the user. In order to access the document in the fewest number of clicks, an OpenURL link that bypasses the SFX menu can be created. The disadvantage to this method is that it is less reliable than creating a link using a DOI, a PURL or an OpenURL link that generates a FindIt menu.

To create an OpenURL link

1. In the McGill Library’s Citation Linker
   1. Enter the complete citation
   2. Click on the FindIt button
   3. When the FindIt window opens, click on More Options at the bottom of the screen
   4. In the Reference section, click on Save citation information
   5. When the Capture Citation window opens, choose the appropriate citation style from the drop down menu (MLA, Chicago, APA, or CBE)
   6. Make any necessary formatting corrections to the citation and then copy it
   7. Paste the citation into your document.
2. Go back to the Capture Citation window and copy the OpenURL

Other persistent links

Some publishers have simplified the process by creating persistent links that appear in the browser window when the citation or article is retrieved. In this case, you may simply copy the URL and then paste into your Word document or open the Insert Hyperlink dialogue box, create a name for your link, and paste the URL into the Address box. Just be sure to add the prefix http://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url= to the URL.

Unfortunately, there is no "sure fire" way to know whether or not these types of links are persistent, but metadata in the URL, such as ISSNs, issue numbers, etc. may provide hints.
For example, this URL from Grove Music Online includes information about the section and the article number:

http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html
?section=opera.905605.1