Faculty Services

Persistent URLS

Persistent URLs are internet addresses that are stable. They are provided by library-subscribed databases for consistent access to individual full-text articles when links are needed, (e.g. in Brightspace). Because these are subscription databases with licensing agreements, and are not freely available on the Web, proper linking using these persistent URLs is also important for copyright purposes. Watch the video below for demos of getting persistent URLs in three of our most commonly-used database vendors. 

Adding the Proxy Prefix

For the links to articles to work from off-campus locations, the MVCC proxy server address MUST be attached to the beginning of the persistent URL. Many databases automatically add the proxy server address to persistent URL, but not all, so be sure to check and make sure the proxy server address is present. Our proxy server address is https://mvcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=  

Therefore, if the persistent URL provided by the database is, for example: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db, you need to copy and paste our proxy server address at the beginning so the persistent URL looks like this:

https://mvcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db

Below are instructions on how to create a persistent URL for articles found in our databases. They are listed by vendor’s name.

ARTstor

• Select an image. An image URL will be provided. Copy and paste the URL.
• Add https://mvcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=  to the beginning of this URL.

CQ Researcher

• Look for the "Document URL" at the bottom of an article or document.
• Add https://mvcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=  to the beginning of this URL.

EBSCOhost

• Click on the article title.
• In the "Tools" section of the page on the right-hand side, click on "Permalink."
• The Permalink (persistent URL) will then display above the article title. Note that the full persistent URL will exceed the space provided for it in the display box. Copy and Paste the link.

[Note: This URL goes to a citation/abstract page. From there, click on the PDF or "Linked full text" icon to access the article. Direct links to PDFs are not available in EBSCOhost.]

Gale-Cengage

• Click on the article title.
• Select "Get Link" from the top icons. Copy and paste it.

JSTOR

• From the results page, click on the article title.
• Above the PDF, you will find the title of the journal in which the article is published.   Under the journal’s name you will find the persistent URL, called here “Stable URL”.  Copy and paste this stable URL.
• Add https://mvcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url= to the beginning of this URL.

Newsbank

• From the result page, click on the article title.
• To find the persistent URL, select the link icon. Copy and paste the URL.

ProQuest

• Select an article.
• Select "All Options." A Persistent URL will be at the top of the dialog box.
• Copy and paste the URL provided.

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