How to Download and Stay Legal!:
A Primer for Faculty on Creating Your Own eReserves
Using OCC Library Databases

For faculty who would like to learn how to gather and insert course materials into their Blackboard courses or personal web sites, there are now two ways to take advantage of content already available in your Library’s online databases: Read on.

CONTENTS:
Introduction
Where to Start: How to Locate Articles
Two Ways to Download
    Cut & Paste, or the Easier Way
    Durable Links, or the Slick Way
Locating PURLs for Databases

Example of durable links or images inserted as course documents into Blackboard

Introduction: What Are Durable Links, or PURLs (Persistent URLs)?

Several major database publishers (Gale, Ebsco, and Proquest) are now offering durable links to articles.  If you have ever tried to cut and paste an URL into a web page, you may have noticed that the link can be very long and usually does not work after a day or so.  That link was dynamically created at the time of the search.  Durable links or “PURLs”, on the other hand, can last months or longer.  To bring up articles, the student simply clicks on the link and the articles will appear.  OCC is already paying for access to many source databases, so a wide array of materials can be used without fearing infringement of copyright.  See below for details on copyright and authentication.

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Where to Start:  How to Locate Articles

If you already have a citation: Search alphabetically for an electronic version of the periodical in the OCC Journal List.  (Off campus, once you have identified the database which contains the article, you may go to the database via the faculty's Articles/Databases page.)  Do a keyword search using the title of the article.  You may restrict the search to the title of a periodical.  Ask a Librarian for assistance.

If you do not have a citation:  Search by subject.  Search methods vary depending on the database.  Ask a Librarian for assistance.

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Two Ways to Download

You don't have to be an expert web-page maker!  Before downloading, be sure you have copyright clearance!  Read about Copyright Permissions for OCC subscription databases.

1. Cut & Paste, or the Easier Way

• Locate the article or image you would like to include in your Bb course or website. (See above.)
• If you are inserting into Blackboard, save your article or image directly from your web browser as "web archive" to preserve the text and images in one html file.  (Html will be viewable in XP as well as other operating systems.)  Insert articles as files into your Course Documents section.  They can be inserted separately as individual articles or as groups of articles within each course document.
• If you are inserting into a web page, copy your selected text or image and paste into MS Word.  Then use the "Save as Web Page" command (a type of html); do not save as a Word document.  Note: Images will not save properly, but text always should.  Images can be saved separately and inserted into the word document before saving it as a web page.¹
• The procedure for pdf files is somewhat different.  For Blackboard, simply save the pdf file as pdf and insert it into your Course Documents section.  For a regular web page, because pdf is not html, it cannot be inserted into a web page.  The pdf file must be uploaded separately to the server and a link to it created in a web page.¹

Example of an article pasted into Blackboard

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2. Durable Links, or the Slick Way –  The advantage of using a durable link. or "PURL," over a straight full-text file is that the user will be able to use all the options built into the database, such as the option to email the article, view, print or download it in a variety of formats, and link to articles on related subjects.  NOTE: Durable links will only work if the user is authenticated.  Again, start by checking on the Copyright Permissions.

• Locate the article or image you would like to include in your Bb course or website. (See above.)
• If you are inserting into Blackboard, you will need a file to insert as a course document.
  • Copy only the durable link PURL for your selected article or image and paste into MS Word.
  • If desired, imbed your PURL into a word phrase, such as the article title or heading for a list of articles, to make it appear more elegant.  
  • Save as “web archive” format to keep both text and graphics in viewable html.  Html will be viewable in XP as well as other operating systems.
  • Upload into your Blackboard course.  In Blackboard, you may insert them as files within your Course Documents section.   They can be saved separately as individual articles or as groups of articles within each course document.
• If you are inserting into a web page:
  • Copy only the durable link PURL for your selected article or image and paste into MS Word.
  • If desired, imbed your PURL into a word phrase, such as the article title or heading for a list of articles, to make it appear more elegant.  An option is to use the whole article citation and imbed the hyperlink there.
  • Use the "Save as Web Page" command (a type of html); do not save as a Word document.
  • Incorporate into your web page.
• Durable Link for Searches – In some databases, search strategies may also be saved as durable links.  In other words, the same search can be run again and newly updated results will be produced.
   

Example of a PURL for a saved search

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See the specific instructions for locating the PURL for these databases.

Note: You must be logged into Blackboard or into the databases to be able to use these links:

Step #1  Create Marked Lists from full-text only searches.

Step #2  Click on instructions below for your chosen databases.

Gale/InfoTrac Databases:

• Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)
• General Reference Center Gold (InfoTrac)
• General Business File ASAP (InfoTrac)
• Health and Wellness Resource Center (Gale)
• Health Reference Center Academic (InfoTrac)
• General OneFile
• Computer Database
• LegalTrac
• InfoTrac Custom 150 Full Newspapers
• New York Times
• Biography Resource Center
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index
• Discovering Collection
• Gale Literary Databases: Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, & Dictionary of Literary Biography
• Gale Literary Index
• Gale's Ready Reference Shelf

Gale/InfoTrac Instructions

Ebscohost Databases:

• EBSCOHost: Main Menu  (Multiple databases)
• Academic Search Elite
• Business Source Elite
• Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition
• Newspaper Source    

Ebscohost Instructions

Proquest Databases:

• Proquest Nursing Journals
• Wall Street Journal

Note: Proquest databases only save durable links for one week, so you may need to revise the PURL to keep it live, or revert to Cut & Paste method.

Proquest Instructions

The following database publishers do not offer Durable Links as an option.

Click on any link to see special instructions about copying full-text articles or images using the Cut & Paste method:

FirstSearch Databases:

• First Search: Main Menu  (Multiple databases)
• CINAHL
• MEDLINE
• WilsonSelectPlus
• World Almanac

FirstSearch Instructions

bigChalk eLibrary

bigChalk Instructions

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The following, in addition to not having Durable Links, have no special instructions:

OED Online: Oxford English Dictionary

Newsbank Databases:

• Newsbank Newspapers
• Detroit Free Press
• Detroit News

StatUSA Databases:

• Stat-USA: Globus & National Trade Data Bank
• Stat-USA: State of the Nation

NetLibrary

CollegeSource Online

Valueline Investment Survey Online

JSTOR – not possible to cut  & paste articles

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¹We cannot address here the complexities of web page creation and maintenance.  The college web administrator can provide server space and permission for you to upload web pages (this requires a RITS), but it is up to you to create and maintain the pages.  Many departments have resource persons with experience setting up Web sites.  Your local TLTC can help set up web pages, and PDTC periodically offers training in FrontPage, the college web software.

aw: Last updated October 16, 2003