Persistent Links: Home

The Foothill College Library provides access to more than 50 online proprietary databases that provide the full-text of electronic versions of journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and videos. Access is only granted to currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff.

When on campus, access is relatively seamless since authentication is usually established by IP address, which identifies your computer as being on the FHDA network. However, when off campus, you need to be routed through the Library's proxy server, where you can be authenticated using your campus wide ID.

Did you know that you can link directly to specific articles, ebooks, streaming videos and/or other online resources from these databases? Whether you are teaching an online, hybrid, or face-to-face class, using Canvas or a website, you can direct students to specific resources using a persistent link.

Why use persistent links?

• They are permanent. Unlike the URLs displayed in a browser address bar that usually expire after a session ends, persistent links are stable.
• It is copyright compliant. Uploading PDFs of copyrighted articles or book chapters online can conflict with library database licenses and with copyright law. Using persistent links is the preferred method of providing access to these proprietary, copyrighted materials.

In this guide you will learn:

1. What a persistent link is
2. How to find a persistent link in a database
3. How to make a persistent link available to off-campus users

To get started, identify the relevant database from the tabs above, and follow the directions. For questions, please contact a librarian at the Reference Desk at x7608.

For off-campus access to the online databases, journals, and eBooks, use your eight-digit student ID (as shown in the image below).

You can also renew your books online from home.

A persistent link (also called a permalink, durable link, or permanent link) is a direct, stable link to a specific online article or other online resource that does not expire after a search session is over.

The correct persistent link (image 1 below) is often given in the citation. Do not rely on the URL that appears in the address window when the article is open (image 2 below).