Faculty Resources

This guide is intended to help members of the Iona community understand how to find and use permalinks for referring to - and later accessing - Iona's online resources.

A permalink - also be referred to as a stable link, durable link, digital object identifier (DOI), persistent link, permanent link or document link, etc. - is a web address that remains static and can be used continuously over time.  It is not dependent upon data collected during a specific web session and will always point to the same resource.

How do I find permalinks? 
Most research databases include a permalink in the article record.  The location of these links vary from one database to another.  Browse through the instructions on the 'Links to Articles in Databases" page for instructions on where to locate this information in different databases.  If the instructions provided are unclear or the database you are using is not listed, please contact a research librarian.

Why can't I just copy the URL in my browser's address bar?
Web addresses (URLs) that appear in the address bar of your web browser when you search the library's subscription databases usually contain dynamically generated session-based or search-based information that will not work when copied and used at a later time.

Why would I use a permalink rather than just upload, print, paste or otherwise distribute an article?
You may be in violation of copyright law or license restrictions if you continually post, copy or otherwise distribute content without authorization or permission.  Using permalinks ensures that resources are being accessed in a legal manner, through databases and websites for which Iona has licenses.  For more information about copyright law, click here to view the Copyright & Fair Use Research Guide ».

How do I know if a permalink will work from off campus?
When on-campus, access is automatically authenticated through Iona's IP address.  When off-campus, authentication must be managed via a proxy server, which is the tool that prompts users for their Computer ID and Password when off-campus. 

What does Iona's Proxy Prefix look like?
Iona's proxy pre-fix is: https://rocky.iona.edu/login?url= 

Recent updates to the EZProxy system have necessitated some updates to the way we link to resources. If you primarily access databases, journals or ebooks through Worldcat or the A-Z Database page, no action is needed. We have already updated the links on those pages.

However, if you link to library resources within Blackboard, either as a Blackboard link or as a link within a syllabus, or if you save permanent links to journals for your own use, the old links may no longer work. When you click a link in Worldcat or on our A-Z Database page, the EZProxy prefix is the first part of the URL that allows access through the Iona sign-on page.

For example, here is an older proxied link to the ATLA Religion database:

https://rocky.iona.edu:2048/login?url=https://research.ebsco.com/c/i4yjkw?db=reh

The bolded part is the prefix. The new EZProxy prefix omits the :2048 part in order to work, so now to access ATLA the link looks like:

https://rocky.iona.edu/login?url=https://research.ebsco.com/c/i4yjkw?db=reh

It’s important that you update links to databases and other resources in Blackboard or on your syllabus to use the updated proxy prefix in order to avoid encountering errors. Again, the updated proxy prefix is:

https://rocky.iona.edu/login?url=

followed immediately by the URL of the resource.

If you follow some links and still see errors, please try deleting your cache and restarting your browser.