What is a Permalink?

You may have noticed that sometimes a URL that you copy and paste from a library database doesn't work correctly when you or your students try to access it later. A permalink, also called a persistent or stable URL, removes any session-specific information from those URLs and is a reliable way to access the article or e-book section later.

A proxied URL will ensure that you and others in the Northeastern community can access the URL from anywhere, whether on- or off-campus.  It generally has ezproxy.neu.edu or a variation embedded in it.

Scholar OneSearch

Scholar OneSearch logo


 

Note: Scholar OneSearch also provides stable links, although these may change infrequently as records are sometimes reloaded in our database. When viewing a record, click the Link button to view and copy the link to that record:

Identifying a permalink using the "link" button in Scholar OneSearch

Since these links may eventually change, we recommend checking them every semester, or if you are developing a list of course readings, use Leganto, our software that creates course reading lists and makes it easy to bring them into Canvas.  

If you know that your article or e-book is in one of the providers named in a tab at the top of this page, click on the tab to go directly to database-specific instructions. These are just a few of the most highly used providers, though. Most resources we have access to will provide permalinks. If you need help with a specific database, please contact us.

Linking to Content through Leganto

Skip the copy-and-paste altogether with Leganto, a resource list tool that integrates with Canvas. 

With Leganto, you can use your mouse to drag and drop the citations for e-books, journal articles, and more directly from the library catalog into your resource list, without worrying about managing links.

 

To get started with Leganto, open the tool link in your Canvas course menu:

For step-by-step instructions on syncing to Canvas and building reading lists, refer to the user guide attached.