Persistent Links

A Persistent Link is a special category of URL.

Unlike common Web pages which are easy to 'link into' by simply providing a URL to the page you are referencing, ex:www.tcc.fl.edu, proprietary databases protect their copyrighted materials behind a firewall requiring the researcher to use passwords and log-in via their subscription protocols. For TCC students and faculty this would require entering via the TCC Database guide to LINCCWeb's Borrower ID & Pin log-in screen, selecting an appropriate database, and initiating an inquiry.

Persistent links, also known as Durable links, can easily be copied by 'cut & paste', and allow the researcher to link directly to an article in a proprietary database without first connecting to the database. Not all databases allow access via such links, but for the ones that do it means

• Instructors can place links for required or suggested readings on their Blackboard sites.
• Persistent links can be placed in online syllabi, reading lists, bibliographies, multimedia projects, or other research guides.
• Students can access the articles 24/7 from their Blackboard site or other online site, while the Reserve Desk at the TCC Library is limited by the regular Library hours
• Web and Distance Learning students can easily obtain assigned readings outside of the textbook.
• A TCC ID card is not required to open the article.
• While a limited number of print copies may be held at the Reserve desk, many students can access the online links.
• Many publishers/database vendors do not permit downloading the full text of an article for redistribution, however links to the full text are acceptable.
• Print materials held at the Reserve desk are subject to limitations in compliance with Federal Copyright laws and cannot remain semester after semester.
• Persistent Links can remain on your class site as long as you'd like. A Persistent link will continue to work as long as the database provider maintains a subscription with the publisher, which in most cases will be continual. It would be a good idea to check that the links are still working at the beginning of every school year.

Which Databases Allow Persistent Links -

At the present time, WilsonWeb databases allow Persistent Links. WilsonWeb includes the following full-text databases. With the exception of Art (1997) all are full text since 1995.

Example:
"The Dea(r)th of Student Responsibility".
Holly Hassel and Jessica Lourey.
College Teaching, 53 no 1 2-13 Winter 2005.

Gale Group/InfoTrac's Health & Wellness  displays an "InfoMark" icon which means you can copy the URL from the address line in your browser

http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HWRC/hits'docNum=
A114286254&year2=&year1=&aci=flag&tcit=0_1_0_0_0&locID
=lincclin_tcc&rlt=2&origSearch=false&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=
0&secondary=false&o=&n=10&day2=&day1=&l=d&month2=&
month1=&c=2&bucket=per&SU=college+students+and+eating+disorders

for the article by Brenda Lenz, "Tobacco, Depression, and Lifestyle Choices in the Pivotal Early College Years," Journal of American College Health , March-April 2004 v52 p213 (7) - but you must first open the database then copy/paste the URL into the address line to access it at a later time.