Persistent URLs (PURLs) -- How to Create Them  

• In most library databases, the URL in the navigation bar of your internet browser contains session information that will expire, meaning that the URL will not work if you try to use it later on.
• For this reason, the majority of databases provide permanent links to articles or article citations within the page.  
  These are located in different places for each database vendor, and are often labelled differently -- some will refer to a permanent link, others a favorite or a bookmark.
• To guarantee that these links will work for users located off campus, it is important to make certain that the information for the library's proxy server is included in the URL.  The proxyized URL of an article will contain "0-" immediately after the http://, and ".library.law.suffolk.edu"
• after the domain extension of the URL.  If this is not present in the URL that you copy, it can be added manually.

For example,  

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=52768095&site=ehost-live

becomes 

http://0-search.ebscohost.com.library.law.suffolk.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=52768095&site=ehost-live

This guide provides instructions for the discovery or creation of permanent URLs within various database interfaces.  One popular use of these PURLs is to incorporate them as course readings in Blackboard, or another learning management system.

For instructions on how to add permanent links to a course in Blackboard, please visit the guide Persistent URLs in Blackboard, http://suffolk.libguides.com/blackboard.