What are persistent links?

• Web addresses that connect to a permanent location within a library database
• Stable and persistent! The web address will never change

Why persistent links?

• Copyright friendly because it is content OHSU pays for via the Library
• Easier than uploading PDFs to courses
• Students have direct access to download the PDFs

Persistent links and Sakai

• Sakai allows you to post article PDFs and their web addresses
• Posting PDFs from non-licensed journals is often violation of copyright law
• The Library recommends using persistent links to share materials via Sakai

Learn more about copyright and fair use using this great resource from Columbia University:

If you need to include an article link in your syllabus or post a citation to your class in Sakai, you can create a persistent link to an article via the OHSU Library Catalog.

Get into an article in our catalog in one of two ways:

I. Find@OHSU Library link

1. If you have searched in a database (PubMed, CINAHL, other) and found an article you want, there should be a blue/purple Find@OHSU Library button associated with that record.
2. Click on the Find @ OHSU Library button
3. You should be brought into the OHSU Library catalog. Go to Step 2 below.

II. Directly in catalog

1. Get into the OHSU Library catalog (link from top Library page or directly at the Library Search link below).
2. Paste the title of your desired article in the search box.
3. Change the drop-down menu from OHSU to Articles from selected databases and search.
   • Use the citation icon copy it to your clipboard. Paste the citation where you need to go point someone to that article (ex: your Sakai post or document).
   • Click on the Permalink icon, copy that, and highlight the article title (in the citation you pasted in the previous step) and insert the hyperlink. Your citation will look something like this:

Janeckova, Hamrik, Z., Matusova, M., & Badura, P. (2021). “I am going out!” – lifestyle sports and physical activity in adolescents. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1–1079. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11066-3

Options for obtaining persistent links to articles vary between databases.

• The most common options are described on this page.

Many databases provide a persistent link creation tool.

• The names of the tools vary
• Common terms to look for are permalink, jumpstart, copy link and embed link.
• These permalinks are usually located in the same area as the options to print, save, and email.

Databases that have persistent tools include:

• EBSCOhost (including CINAHL)
• Gale
• Ovid (including PsycINFO)
• and others

Here are some examples:

• In some databases the URL in the address bar is a persistent link.
• In these cases, the URL plus https://login.liboff.ohsu.edu/login?url= placed at the beginning can be used as a persistent link.
• Resources that have permanent URLs in the address bar include:
  • Springer
  • BMJ Clinical Evidence
  • ClinicalKey for Nursing.

Here is an example: https://login.liboff.ohsu.edu/login?url=http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01315280

Important Note: If the words "session" or "temp" appear in a URL, it is likely NOT a persistent link: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid-3&hid=111&sid-bfd697de-6231-4dd4-94df-f60c5ec41c85%40sessionmgr115&bdata-JnNpdGU9Z

• DOIs are digital object identifiers.
• If a database provides a DOI for a full-text article in the item record, you can use it to make a persistent link.
• To make a persistent link from the DOI, copy the DOI and append it to this URL: https://login.liboff.ohsu.edu/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/

ScienceDirect and Wiley Online Library provide DOIs.

Here is an example:

Important: If the link does not begin with "https://login.liboff.ohsu.edu/login?url=" it must be added to the beginning of the link. This prefix allows access for off-campus users.

Important Note: If the words "session" or "temp" appear in a URL, it is likely NOT a persistent link. For example:

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid-3&hid=111&sid-bfd697de-6231-4dd4-94df-f60c5ec41c85%40sessionmgr115&bdata-JnNpdGU9Z