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Persistent Links for Best Copyright Compliance: Home

Instructions for embedding persistent links

Persistent Link Introduction

General Information about Persistent Links

It is a copyright compliance best practice to embed a persistent link directly into your D2L page or syllabus. This guide will show you how to find and embed a persistent link from some of UMU's frequently used databases.(See the purple tabs with the database types.)

Access Off and On Campus:

Think of the OPAL (Ohio Private Academic Libraries) wording in a link as a password for Mount Union users:mt.opal-libraries.  It needs to somewhere in the link you are attaching.

If you don't see mt.opal-libraries in the persistent link, you may have to add the authentication prefix in front of the permalink. See the individual database tabs for specific help.

This is the prefix: https://login.mt.opal-libraries.org/login?url=

Should the database's permalink contain the prefix within it, it will work off campus without adding the necessary prefix.

For example: https://dl-acm-org.mt.opal-libraries.org/doi/10.1145/223500.223514

What is a Persistent Link?

A persistent link is a URL that connects directly to a specific full-text article or book in a library database. Persistent links do not get updated or changed. It can also be referred to as one of the following:

  • permanent link
  • persistent link 
  • stable link
  • durable link
  • document link

A DOI (or Digital Object Identifier) is a unique persistent identifier for a published digital object. 

For citation purposes, most style guides recommend using the following priority of persistent link choices:

  1. DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
  2. Permalink (if there is no DOI listed)
  3. URL (If there is neither a DOI nor a permalink) 
    1. In the case of Safari, the permalink is not effective.)

For more information, consult the style guides listed on the DWOC Citation and Grammar webpage.