Linking to directly to library resources in your syllabus or on your Blackboard site can make it easier and more likely for students to access and use the resources you recommend. Because the number of sources the library provides originate from a mixture of vendors, figuring out how to format your link can be confusing. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding linking to the resources the library provides to you.
You may be in violation of copyright law or the usage license from a supplier if you email or post a PDF or other content directly. (More information can be found on the library's copyright page: https://lib.hoover.mcdaniel.edu/copyright) Using permalinks also insures that only users that are authorized to view the content will be able to do so, since they will use the library's proxy to log in before they can view the linked item (see below)
The library uses a proxy server to allow users to access materials off-campus. Each campus-based workstation (or your mobile device if it is connected to the campus wireless network) has a network address (IP) that is within a range provided to vendors and suppliers, thus the content website recognizes that a user is at McDaniel and can access content. If you are off-campus, however, your devices' IP address is not recognized. The proxy server "translates" your IP address to one within the McDaniel range, authenticates you as a valid user and thus allows access. When you make permalinks, always use the proxy server information to allow for both on- and off-campus access to a linked resource. Not everything needs to be proxied, however. Open-access databases such as DOAJ (https://doaj.org) provide content to anyone, so no authentication is required.
For example, the proxied link to the ebook Encyclopedia of creativity looks like this: https://hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/mcdanielcollege/Doc?id=10514871, where https://hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/login?url= is the "proxy prefix" that must be in front of the URL that is to be proxied. In most cases, however, you can't simply add this to the beginning of a URL that is copied from your browser.
Most platforms provide some sort of permalink capability, although it is not always easy to find. Major vendors are listed in this guide, along with information on how to obtain and construct a permalink.
The most common standard for permalinks is "DOI" (more information on this is also in the "Links to E-Resources" tab) Even if a vendor does not provide a utility for creating a permalink, if they have a DOI number on a citation, that can be used to create the permalink.
If your URL begins with the following text (this is our proxy prefix), it will be accessible from off-campus:
https://hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/login?url=
URLs which do not begin with this text must have it added to be accessible from off-campus.
You can use our Library Link Proxifier tool to ensure that your link contains the proxy prefix and will work from off-campus.
TEST your link from off-campus to make sure it works! If you receive a proxy error, you will be sent to a form to report the error to us - we will investigate why the link is failing and respond to you if you include your email address in the form.
There can be a number of reasons that a link does not work. The most common one is that the search is not "encoded" - this means that spaces or diacritical marks such as apostrophes cannot be interpreted by the web browser when the URL is clicked. More information on this encoding can be found here: URL Encoding. This is most likely to occur in title and subject searches with multiple terms separated by spaces.
Most of the work in constructing permalinks is done in Excel, and there are is a utility that can automate tasks associated with this:
If you still have problems with a particular site or journal (some society journals are problematic), contact the library and we will check that supplier to see if there is a way to construct a permalink. Not all suppliers make this possible, and some even prohibit permalinks to their content. As we find methods of permalinking to problem suppliers, they will be posted to this guide.
In cases where a direct permalink to an article is not possible, alternatives include a making a permalink to a citation reference such as PubMed or Academic Search Complete or a link to a journal website with the citation given as a reference point to the user. As mentioned above, posting a PDF may be a violation of copyright or licensing agreements.
Please contact
Yanhong Wang at ywang@mcdaniel.edu (410-857-2284)
if you need further assistance.
