This page explains how to create permanent links to full-text journal articles, newspaper articles and ebooks that:

1. Will remain active and stable over time (won't "break" right away)
2. Are available from off-campus to current Queen's students, faculty and staff (via a NetID login)

An abundance of Queen's Library material is available online. Quite often it is necessary to create links to this material from online course reading lists, online course reserves or other web pages.

This often is a straight-forward procedure, but sometimes additional work is required to ensure the resulting link is stable and available from off-campus computers.

Instructors: see Creating Course Reading Lists for more advice on incorporating online readings into your course reading lists.

Tips

1. Be wary of browser URLs (the 'http://' text at the top of your web browser). URLs for articles found in research databases are often not stable over time.
2. Know the best permanent link type for the database/platform:
   • Permanent Link Types for Popular Research Databases
3. Use DOIs whenever possible.  Permanent links that use DOIs (digital object identifiers) are the most stable. 
4. Make Queen's-only links accessible from off-campus computers. Add a Connect from Off-Campus Queen' s NetID login screen.
   •  Off-Campus Link Creator
   •  Off-Campus and DOI Link Creator - use this when you have a DOI
      

Detailed step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Locate online full-text article

The first step to finding a permanent link to an article is locating the online full-text version of the article.

To verify whether Queen’s subscribes to the desired publication in an online format, search the QCAT Library Catalogue:

• QCAT Library Catalogue - search by Journal Title Exact, then browse through the journal to find the article.

If you can't locate the journal in QCAT:

• You may want to check if the article is available online for free. Try searching Google Scholar.
• It may not be possible to link to the full-text of a journal article online if the library does not subscribe to the online edition or if it is not available for free.

If you are able to immediately locate a DOI or other permanent link for your article, go directly to Step 4.

If you find the full-text online but do not know what permanent link to use, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Determine if a DOI is available

If you have located a full-text article in electronic format and were not able to find its DOI or a stable URL, try this article DOI Lookup tool:

• Free DOI Lookup - from CrossRef

Tips:

• Complete the form on this web page with information about the article. Not all fields (text boxes) need to be filled in, but it is recommended to provide:
  • first author's last name, title of the journal, volume number, beginning page number, year of publication
• If you do not have all this information, enter the citation information you do have. A list of journal titles covered is provided on the above Web site.
• Please note that not all articles have DOIs.
• A DOI looks like this:
  • 10.1021/ac0354342
• A permanent DOI link looks like this:
  • o http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ac0354342

If you can locate a DOI for the article, go directly to Step 4.

Otherwise, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Locate a permanent link (when a DOI is not available)

If you are having difficulty locating a permanent link, consult:

• Permanent Link Types for Popular Research Databases

If you are successful finding a permanent link, proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: Make the link available from off-campus

To make a permanent link easily available to off-campus computers, you will need to add the “web proxy prefix” to the URL.

For Permanent URLs:

• Off-Campus Link Creator – this simple web form will add the web proxy prefix to any URL.

For DOIs:

• Off-Campus and DOI Link Creator – this simple web form will turn a DOI into a permanent link and add the proxy prefix to the resulting URL.

Database or linking problems? Contact the library

• Ask a Question - send a question by email