Create Links that Work
Materials available online through the library can sometimes be tricky to bookmark or link to, since access is often limited to current U-M affiliates and the permanent web address is not always easy to find.
To ensure your students can access materials you link to, make sure they are both persistent and proxied.
Using a persistent link will prevent any temporary session information from being in the URL, which could cause a link to expire. And including a “proxy prefix,” explained below, ensures that off-campus users will be prompted to login with their U-M credentials for full and stable access.
Finding a persistent link
When viewing material available online through the library, you’ll usually find an option to copy a persistent link to it. The language used to refer to this persistent link and where it’s located on the page will vary depending on the site you’re on. Common terms to look out for include:
- Permalink
- Bookmark
- Jumpstart
- Document URL
- Stable URL
All of these will work.
Making sure your link is proxied
Once you find the persistent link, make sure it includes: https://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=
Some sites — such as many library databases and journals — automatically include this. If it’s not there, you need to add it manually at the beginning of the persistent link.
For example:
A persistent link from JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24265183
With the proxy prefix added: https://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2426…;