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Embedding Library Content at Point-of-Need in Canvas

How do I integrate the library's resources and collections into my Canvas courses effectively and efficiently?

Linking to Articles

The Library provides access to millions of scholarly journal articles, essays and reports, newspaper and magazine articles, and reference sources such as encyclopedia entries. All of these resources can be accessed through the library databases, and one can link to specific content from Canvas.

A Persistent Link, or Persistent URL (PURL), is a constant, stable link to a document in a database that will not change over time, and will allow students to view the content off-campus. A PURL is also sometimes referred to as a durable link or a Permalink. 

One must use a PURL when linking to a document from Canvas. The content on our databases is provided by licensing agreements with publishers. Downloading a PDF and uploading it into your course is a violation of our copyright agreement. Also, views to downloaded content will not count towards our usage statistics, which we rely on to make informed decisions about database renewal.

The location of a PURL will differ from database to database. Sometimes you will find it in the article’s abstract or at the bottom of the page. Other times you will see a link in the right hand column of the page. In some of our specialized databases, the PURL can be copied from the address bar of the browser. 

Contact a librarian if you have any questions about finding a PURL in a specific database.

 

Retrieving a PURL to an article in ProQuest:

  1. Access a ProQuest database from the Library’s A-Z Database page
  2. Search for an article and select it
  3. Click on the “abstract/details” tab
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the “document URL”
  5. Highlight the link and copy it

 

Retrieving a PURL to an article in LibSearch or EBSCO:

  1. Access LibSearch from the gold search box on the Library Website – OR – search in the EBSCO database from the Library’s A-Z Database page
  2. Search for an article and select it
  3. Click on “permalink” found in the column on the right of the page
  4. The permalink will display above the article’s title – highlight the link and copy it

 

Retrieving a PURL to an article in CQ Researcher:

  1. Access CQ Researcher from the Library’s A-Z Database page
  2. Search or browse for an article and select it
  3. Scroll down below the full text of the article and look for the “document URL”
  4. Highlight the link and copy it

 

 

Link to an article’s Permalink in Canvas just as you would link to an external website.

  1. Create a new announcement, discussion, assignment, or page – anywhere you see the “rich text editor” – for this example I’ll create a new discussion board prompt
  2. Open and edit my new discussion – now I see the rich text editor
  3. Type in the text you wish to link from (ex: Click this link to read the article…), then highlight the text
  4. Select the “link to URL” icon
  5. Paste in the PURL then click “insert link”
    1. Pro tip: Control+V to paste
  6. Save and Publish