Stable URLs  

The web has advanced enough to provide a stable address for many of your online class readings.  Providing your students with a stable URL for books, articles and electronic reserve items gives them fast access to the readings without having them come into the library.  This guide talks about the nuts and bolts of constructing these URLs. Some notes:

• Stable URLs can be shared in the same ways any string of data can be shared: sent in an email, posted on a website, made into a link on a Blackboard page.
• They are great advantage to students in online classes, as they do not require the student to be physically present on campus (unless the target source is in hard copy).
• These resources are free of charge to you and your students; if you substitute online readings for something the students usually have to buy (textbooks) it is an affordable learning initiative.
• Using authentication (our password system) ensures that you are not violating copyight.
• Stable URLs are sometimes called "persistent" or "permanent URLs", but I prefer not to call them that because some of them may not be absolutely permanent.
• Be forewarned that guide is about extremely picky details, and involves the accurate pasting of data from one source to the next.
• Many of these situations create long URLs, so consider using a URL shortening service.