Q. How do you make a persistent url?

A persistent URL (PURL) is a link you can use to return to an article, journal, or database without having to start the search from scratch. For example, if an instructor wants to include links to online versions of specific readings in the syllabus, persistent URLs can be used to provide direct links for each article.

EZproxy -- In order to connect to the library's subscription resources from off-campus, the persistent URL needs to include the EZproxy information as the first part of the link.

http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?url=

For example, https://search.alexanderstreet.com becomes http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?url=https://search.alexanderstreet.com

For more information about EZproxy, see Off Campus Access

Database links -- To create a persistent link to one of the library's subscription databases, locate the name of the database in the library's Articles & Databases pages, then right-click on the name and copy the shortcut for the link. The UCF library has created purls for each database and has already included the EZproxy connection as part of what lies behind the purl.

For example, the purl for Academic Search Premier is http://guides.ucf.edu/database/AcademicSearchPremier

Article links -- Some of the library's subscription databases include a ready-made persistent URL for each article. Instead of opening the full text of the article, open the database's description of the individual article. When you copy the link, check it to make sure that it includes http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?url= as the first part of the link. If it doesn't, you'll need to add it yourself.

If the database does not provide a ready-made URL for each article, you can try copying the URL that appears in the address box of the browser, but often that link is created dynamically for the specific search session and can't be used to return to the page at a later time. If that happens you might need to use a persistent link to a higher level in the search process (the journal or the database) and provide instructions for retrieving the article.