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Direct links to articles and other content

Detailed instructions on creating links to articles, steaming audio and other content for use in Canvas and websites at the Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans.

Direct links to library resources

Why is it important to provide links to online full-text journal articles instead of uploading the article to Canvas as a pdf? 

The library relies on usage statistics to determine which journals to renew and which to cancel each year. In order to justify the cost of maintaining a journal subscription, we must be quantify how much the journal has been used. When a pdf is downloaded from an online journal the library subscribes to and uploaded into Canvas that only counts as one use of the article, regardless of how many of your students are using it in your Canvas course. Instead of uploading the pdf, if you provide a link to the article then each time a student accesses the article their usage is being recorded.

Step 1: First you will need to find the stable URL to the article.

What is a stable URL? When you are viewing the article, copying the session URL (this is the URL from the web browser navigation bar) and pasting it into Canvas will often result in a broken link when your students try to revisit that link at a later date. Rather than the session URL you will need to find the stable URL. Be sure to confirm that you are linking to full-text and not just a citation with a link to request through interlibrary loan. Here are some examples that will help you identify a stable URL:

  • Many articles will have a doi.org address
    • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.03.004 
  • JSTOR lists a Stable URL
    • Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41428697 
  • EBSCOhost databases and QuickSearch provide a permalink. Look for the "Permalink" button and then copy the URL from the permalink box that pops up. The Monroe Library Reading List tool adds the proxy prefix for you, but use this if you are linking directly to a citation in a text block. 
  • In ProQuest databases, such as Music Periodicals Database, Performing Arts Database, or New York Times Historical, go to the Abstract/Details tab and scroll down to Document URL. This link will also be proxied for you. (Note: full-text articles in ProQuest databases will not be retrieved by the Monroe Library Reading List tool. 

Because this process varies depending on where your article is published, consult your liaison for assistance if you can not easily find the stable URL.

Step 2: Add the proxy prefix. The proxy prefix allows you to login to Loyola's databases from off campus so you can access your articles.

Once you have a doi.org URL or another stable, permanent URL* to an article (see step1), add this prefix to the beginning of the URL:

https://loyno.idm.oclc.org/login?url=

The links from the examples in step 1 will look like this: 

Test the URL from a different computer (or another day) to be sure that the link works and that it goes to what you want to use.

*Note that some databases will attempt to formulate a proxied URL with the proxy in the center of the URL (for example, https://journals-sagepub-com.loyno.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/2329490617723118). These links may or may not work from off campus; please reformat them with the proxy at the beginning of the URL, like above, to ensure that they will work.