Linking to Articles
Most databases provide direct, stable links to articles that you can copy and paste into your Canvas course or on a course website allowing students easy access to the readings. These links are called things like “Permalink” or “Stable URL,” or sometimes “DOI.” Students may need to connect via VPN first before they can access the articles if they are off-campus.
We recommend you do this rather than download a PDF to post on your site. Libraries count usage of electronic resources based on how many “clicks” they get. If you post a downloaded PDF, that resource only gets recorded once (the time you downloaded it). Leading students to the article URL instead helps us accurately measure the value of these resources as we make collections decisions.
If you have questions about how to create a permanent link to a specific article, please Ask a Librarian at https://www.lib.uci.edu/ask-librarian-reference-services.
Linking to Course Reserves
If you have already placed materials on Course Reserves and would like to create links to your reserve list from Canvas or a course website, then follow the directions below:
- Go to the Libraries home page at https://www.lib.uci.edu/.
- Click “Course Reserves” under Quick Links on the right hand side of the page.
- Browse or search for your course.
- When you have reached your specific course page, copy URL from your Web browser and insert it into your web page. (This URL begins with https://www.lib.uci.edu/course_reserves... and is long, but it is stable.)