Helpful Links

Navigate OHIO

About OHIO Admission Athletics
Academics Life at OHIO

Connect With Us

Ohio University Libraries
30 Park Place
Athens, OH 45701

Linking to Library Resources from Blackboard

Using Canvas? See Linking to Library Resources from Canvas

Jump to Libraries Content Folder

If you are providing links to electronic library content, we can make sure you have stable permalinks that allow access from on- and off- campus.  Best practices for copyright compliant use of library-licensed electronic content are to use links to the content, not post full text materials.  The license agreements for electronic content almost always explicitly allow links to electronic content.  Additionally, using the permalinks allows us to gather more accurate data about the use of purchased library materials, and allow access to the content in your courses to persist from semester to semester.

Use Persistent or Permanent Links to Share Articles 

To share or bookmark a link to specific resource within a library database, you will want to use what is called a persistent link rather than using the link from your browser’s address bar. The location of this persistent link (often referred to as a permanent or permalink) will vary by database.

Some common databases that offer this feature include:

  • ArticlesPlus, CINAHL and other EBSCO databases
    • To share a set of search results: click on the Share menu at the top of the results list. Copy the URL that appears under the section that says Use Permalink. 
    • To share a single article or other item: look for the Tools section to the right of the page, and click Permalink. Copy the URL that appears above the article title.
  • ProQuest databases like US Newsstream:
    • To share a set of search results: click on the Save search/alert link at the top of the results page. Click the option that says Get search link. Copy the URL that appears in the pop up window. These links expire after one year.
    • To share a single article or other item: Click on the Details tab and look for the Document URL row. Copy this URL.
  • JSTOR:
    • The sharable URL is found under the "i" menu on the left side of the page. 
    • To share a single article: look for the url directly under the citation on the left side of the page, just above the "Cite this item" button.  
    • The link will begin with "www-jstor-org.proxy.library.ohio.edu/stable"
  • Nexis Uni (previously known as Lexis Nexis):
    • To share a set of search results: at the top of the search results, click Actions. Choose the option to Link to this page and copy the URL that appears in the pop-up window.
    • To share a single article: look for the Actions link in the grey bar that includes the document title. Choose the option to Link to this page and copy the URL that appears in the pop-up window.
  • PubMed/MEDLINE: This database is run by the National Library of Medicine and is open to anyone to use. This does not, however, give everyone access to the full-text content. Using a persistent link with the Libraries’ proxy URL will ensure that you get access to full-text content provided by the Libraries or a link to the Libraries Full Text Finder! service.
  • OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center (EJC):
    • To share a single article: look for the Permalink listed in the article information.

Linking to a database

To link to a database, copy and paste the persistent link found in the ALICE record, as shown here:

Persistent Link

Use the Libraries Content Folder in Blackboard to Create Reading Lists

You can use a tool inside Blackboard to search for and link to licensed library content (copyright compliant) and build reading lists at the same time. Look for the tool called “Libraries Content Folder” under the “tools” menu in your course Content folder.

Watch this 3 minute video to see how it works.  Contact your subject librarian for more help. Video too fast? Use the gear icon in the video to slow it down.

Back to Instructional Support