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Resources for Distance Instructors

A brief guide to Dupré Library resources and services for distance instructors.

Locating and Creating Permalinks

What are permalinks?

Permalinks (also called persistent links, persistent URLs, permanent URLs, and stable URLs) are links that you can trust to get you back to that eBook, journal article, or other resources you found when doing a library search.

Why should I care?

If you try to copy the web address you would usually use to get back to a website, but the thing you are trying to get back to came from a library database, chances are that address at the top that you usually copy will not work after you log out.

Permalinks are designed to be a link you can count on even after you log out. Most permalinks that you pull from library databases are designed to work both on campus and off-campus. They are run through our EZ Proxy server, which can see (from your IP address) if you are on campus and take you straight to your target page. If you are off-campus, EZ Proxy can determine that, too, and will you a chance to log in with your ULID and password before taking you to your target page.

There are also copyright compliance bonuses for using permalinks. If you upload PDFs of articles or eBooks in your Moodle course, you may be in violation of copyright law or licensing agreements with providers of our online resources. Permalinks allow you to reliably link to online resources and help ensure that you are copyright compliant.

Okay, how do I do it?

  • Use the menu tabs to find instructions on locating and creating permalinks for different library resources.
  • Some databases, like EBSCO and ProQuest, already include Dupré Library's proxy URL. (The library's proxy URL helps ensure that off-campus users have the same access as those on campus.)
  • Other databases, such as JSTOR, provide a stable URL but do not automatically include Dupré Library's proxy URL. In those instances, you'll need to add the Llibrary's proxy URL to the front of the stable URL before adding it to your Moodle page.
  • Dupré Library's proxy URL is:
    • https://ezproxyprod.ucs.louisiana.edu:2443/login?url=

If the link you copied starts with "eds.a.ebscohost", it will not work after your current session.

Still have questions? Watch the quick and dirty demo: