Persistent Links

Lehigh University Information Resources

Creating Durable/Persistent Links to Course-Related Articles or Predefined Searches
Durable (also commonly known as" persistent") linking will allow users to retrieve a specific electronic journal article by clicking on a link embedded in a Web site you create. In some cases it is also possible to embed a search strategy or search form with a persistent link.
Five electronic resources are covered in these instructions:
ProQuest
Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe
InfoTrac (Academic Index and Investext)
PubMed (Medline)
ERIC
It is also possible to create Durable links to specific articles in many of the Electronic Journals to which the library subscribes, or to the specific EJournal Collection. This process uses many of the same mechanics and will also be covered in this guide.

ProQuest (Site Builder)

With Site Builder you can create
different types of persistent links.

You can link to a specific article in the ProQuest Database.

You can create a link to a search you wish to conduct on a topic, with specific characteristics. Each time the link is clicked the search is run in the most current database so the most recently added articles will be retrieved in addition to earlier articles. A list of articles appears as a result.

You can create a link that retrieves the basic ProQuest Search form which students can use to devise their own search.

To create persistent links for the the ProQuest Database it is necessary to use their Site Builder feature and a passworded account if you wish to create persistent links that will endure for several years. ( They have a generic method of creating durable links, but these only last for 30 days.) Contact a Client Services Librarian to obtain the account number and password.
To log into your Builder Accounts
1. Enter standard ProQuest
2. Go to the RESULTS button at the top of the screen. At the drop down menu choose
“Marked List & Durable Links”
3. Click on the green BUILDER LOGIN button
4. Enter your Builder Account number and password.
5. You are now ready to build
At this point you can begin searching for the articles you wish to link. When you have conducted a search and wish to create a persistent link follow the instructions below.
Click the green “SAVE LINK” button to build a:
Search Strategy link when you are viewing the result list of that search
Article link when you are viewing the article
Publication link to all available issues when you are viewing the issue listings
Publication link to a single issue when you are viewing the articles of that issue
After saving all of your links:
Go to RESULTS and choose “Marked List & Durable Links
You will see all of your links under the “SiteBuilder/Durable Links Section”
Click on EXPORT LINKS to convert them to hypertext scripted links
Highlight the hypertext script and copy and paste into your web application.
(adapted from Proquest SiteBuilder QuickStart guide)
Since these links are quite long, highlighting them for copying can be a challenge. Here is a technique to try: double click on the "http" at the beginning of the link then drag the mouse as far as you can to the right, if you have trouble getting to the extreme right hand side of the link use the right arrow key on your keyboard to move the cursor to the end of the link. Once the link is highlighted, use the EDIT, COPY feature to copy the link to the clipboard

Example of link to a specific article : Finneran, Kevin. Let them Eat Pixels, Issues in Science and Technology; Spring 2000.

Example of link to a list of search results: Search for Newspaper Articles from ProQuest database which discuss the response rate to the 2000 Census.
To create a link which retrieves the Basic ProQuest search form.

Go to the Library Databases page. Scroll down to the Proquest Database listing. Put your cursor on the Proquest database.
Follow these steps:
1.Right-click the link.
2.Choose Copy Link Location (Netscape Navigator), or Copy Shortcut (Microsoft Internet Explorer). The link is now
on the clipboard.
3.You can now copy and insert the link into text or an image on your Web page. This link will retrieve the Basic Search form.
It is not possible to retrieve the Advanced search form at this time.

Example of a link to the Proquest Basic search form : Search Proquest

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Caution: at the time this guide was revised, problems existed with this URL maker. It may only be functioning correctly if the publication to which you are linking is in the News/General News/Major Newspapers source category in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. Please carefully test your URL to be sure it is accurate.
The Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe product does not have a persistent link feature, but Raleigh Muns (Reference Librarian, UM-St. Louis Libraries) has created Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe URL Maker version 3.0 which resides at
http://www.umsl.edu/~muns/urlmakers/au/
To use the URL maker:

Fill out the URL maker form with the details of your search.

Click on the "CREATE URL" button.

At the new screen click on the "TEST YOUR URL" link.

A L/N Academic Universe Search Screen will appear which should have the details of your search imbedded into the search fields.

You should click on the Search button to make sure the correct article is retrieved. If it is, use your browsers back button to return to the previous search screen.

Now, right click on the URL in the Browser's location window to copy the durable URL.

The URL Maker constructs an algorithm for an AU search form that should produce the one article desired, for example, "What new consensus?" by Robert P. Newman, Washington Post, November 30, 1994. The link you create will require the user to click on the Search Button, however the article you desire should be retrieved efficiently.
You can also use the URL Maker to develop a search strategy that will produce a list of results rather than a specific article. For instance the following URL will link to a search screen that searches for articles from Jan. 1, 1991 to Dec. 31, 1997 on the topic of the Enola Gay exhibition in Major Newspapers in Lexis.

InfoTrac ( Expanded Academic Index and Investext)
InfoTrac has developed a feature they call the InfoMark
An InfoMark at the top of any page indicates that the URL of the
page will persist even when the session is over. As mentioned earlier, persistent URLs can be copied onto a Web page. They can also be bookmarked for future reference or copied into an electronic mail message. With InfoTrac you use the browser's "right click" copy feature to save the persistent URL, or you can save the page as a bookmark.
Links to Articles
InfoMark allows you create a "live" reference to an article. To create a reference link from the page displaying your article, first right click on the article, select "Open Frame in New Window" which will allow you to see the URL for this article. Now simply save (copy) the URL at the article page by right clicking on it and selecting copy.
Example: "Missing the Target" by Tony Capaccio, American Journalism Review, July/Aug. 1995.
Predefined Searches
Another use for InfoMarks is to create a predefined search. To do this, save the URL at the citation list page, the page with a list of matching articles. You will need to first right click on the list, select "Open Frame in New Window" which will allow you to see the URL for this search. Any combination of search terms and limit features that produces citations can be saved. Whenever the saved link is selected, the search will be run anew, so the results always reflect the current contents of the database.
Example: Articles by Tony Capaccio in the American Journalism Review.
Reading List
A "reading list" can be created by performing a search, selecting the desired citations from the result, and saving the mark list page URL. (Remember to open the frame in a new window in order to display the URL for this page.) The link will provide a shortcut back to a list of the selected citations in InfoTrak. From there, individual articles can be retrieved.
Example: Selected articles from a search on the controversy over the Smithsonian Institution's exhibit on the Enola Gay.
To create a link which retrieves the InfoTrac search form
To link to the currently selected search form, save a search page InfoMark URL. (Remember to open the frame in a new window in order to display the URL for this page.) The link can then be used as a shortcut to a search entry box, ready for input.
Example: InfoTrac Academic Index Search Form
(Text adapted from Infotrac help files.)

PubMed - The Medline Database -

Creating Durable links in PubMed
To create a link which saves a predefined search:

Perform your search in the Pubmed database on the web.

As you view the page which lists your search results click on the "Details" box on the button Bar.

At this point you will see a page with a PubMed Query box that displays the search strategy just conducted. Click on the button labeled "URL" which appears below the box.

At the next screen, find your brower's "Location" box. Highlight the URL in this box and then use your right mouse button to copy it to your clipboard for use in your webpage or other document.

See the examples below of a saved search:
Search PubMed for articles on Disabilty and Fibromyalgia.

Pubmed Search on Headaches in Preschool Childre n

To save a link to a specific article citation and associated full-text:
In addition to its citations and abstracts, PubMed provides links to the full-text of numerous cooperating journals. You can create a durable link to this citation and its full text link, however access to the full-text of the articles depends on your institution's subscription arrangements with the individual publishers. To create a durable link:

Bring up the citation screen for the specific article

At your browser's Location box highlight and copy the URL.

Example of saved link to a citation with full-text available.
Article: Pain experience of children with headache and their families: a controlled study, Pediatrics, August 2000

ERIC DOCUMENTS
To create a link to a specific ERIC Document abstract and PDF file:
First conduct a search in the FirstSearch Eric Database to determine the ED number (ERIC Accession Number.)
After having identified the specific ERIC Document you wish to link from your class pages and making a note of its Accession (ED) number, go to the ERIC Document Reproduction Service on the Library's database page.
Since you have an ED Accession Number you can utilize the EXPRESS SEARCH feature. Enter your ED number into the Search field.
You will retrieve an Express Search Results screen similar to that shown below.
Click on the "page symbol" as circled in the example.

You will be sent to the Document Details screen. At the browser URL LOCATION window as shown below, "right click" on the URL and copy it.
This URL is now a durable link and can be pasted into your class web pages. The link you create will allow your students to return to this page, read the abstract and obtain a copy by clicking on the PDF icon.

Important Note:
Since the content of any of these databases is frequently negotiated and constantly changing it is good practice to verify any saved links periodically to confirm that your links retrieve what you initially expected.

Creating Durable links to Ejournal articles which are not part of an aggregated Database.
This is a relatively simple process. If you have found an article in an electronic journal using either the ASA online catalog or the library's Ejournal list you simply use the "right click" process:
To create a durable link save (copy) the URL at the full-text article page by right clicking on it and selecting "COPY." This URL should be durable and can be imbedded into your webpage or course materials. This can also be done if you want to save a link to the Journal itself, rather than to a specific article. (Make sure you are on the hompage of the Journal. Do not click on the URL from within the ASA record as this will not function correctly)

Roseann Bowerman
Social Sciences Librarian
Lehigh University, Information Resources
rb04@Lehigh.edu
revised: May 2002

(background courtesy of The Background Boutique)