A persistent link is a URL created by the database vendor that allows you to send the students directly to the article or ebook. Many databases have an option for creating a persistent link. In some cases it is just a matter of copying the link and pasting it into Canvas. In other cases it requires adding the proxy information that authenticates students if they are off-campus to use our databases. Use the menu on the right to choose the database vendor to find out how to create a permalink.

Persistent or permalinks have two parts:

1. The proxy URL: https://oregonstate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=
2. The article link provided by the database

The persistent link looks like this:

• https://oregonstate.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060975

If you add the proxy URL in front of the article URL, your off-campus student will be able to log in with their ONID information.

If you just copy the URL at the top of the screen, your off-campus students may not have access because the URL does not always include the proxy information. It depends on the database. Always test your links from off-campus as well as on-campus.

In JSTOR, persistent links are called stable links.

Locate the article in JSTOR. At the top, you will see a citation and an image of the journal. To the right there is a link called Article Stable URL. Copy the URL.

Now you can create an external link in Canvas. In front of the URL, you need to add

http://proxy.library.oregonstate.edu/login?url=

Your URL should now look like this:

http://proxy.library.oregonstate.edu/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060975

Paste this URL into your Canvas course.

This will allow off-campus students to authenticate and access the article. If you already have a copy of the article in print and want to link to the electronic version, you will find the stable URL on the cover of the article. You will need to add the proxy information when adding the link to Canvas.

In the results list, click on the title of the article.

Copy the URL from the browser address bar. 

Add the proxy information to the URL. http://proxy.library.oregonstate.edu/login?url=

Your URL should now look like this

http://proxy.library.oregonstate.edu/login?url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_social_history/v039/39.3mosley.html

Paste this URL into your course Canvas.

This will allow off-campus students to authenticate and access the article. If you already have a copy of the article in print and want to link to the electronic version, you will find the article URL on the cover of the article. You will need to add the proxy information when adding the link to Canvas.

Persistent links are called "permalinks" in the EBSCO databases.

Not all articles in the EBSCO databases are available full-text online. If the article is not available in EBSCO, click on the FindIt@OSU icon to see if it is available from another database or journal package. If so, use that URL to direct students to the article. Creating a persistent link will only work for those articles that are available full-text in the EBSCO database.

After you run a search in the database, click on the title of the article to which you want to create a persistent link.

Click on the "permalink" icon on the right side of the screen.

Copy the URL in the Permalink text box.

Create a link in Canvas to the article. You do not need to add the proxy information. It is already included.

Not all articles in the Gale databases are available full-text online. If the article is not available in Gale, click on the FindIt@OSU icon to see if it is available from another database or journal package. If so, use that URL to direct students to the article.

If the article is available full-text, click on the title of the article and scroll down to the bottom of the screen.

Copy the Document URL.

Add the OSU proxy information to the URL. The URL should look like this:

http://proxy.library.oregonstate.edu/login?url="http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA215246715&v=2.1&u=s8405248&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w