Library

Use the Link Builder to share Library resources with MRU students and employees by creating a stable link. The Link Builder adds the MRU proxy prefix to the URL that will prompt users to log in with a MyMRU username and password to access resources from off-campus.

Permalinks (or persistent links) to library materials are stable and easy to use.  Students are provided copyright-friendly access to journal articles, book chapters, streaming videos and other online content with a click. 

MRU permalinks are uniquely formatted to provide OpenAthens authenticated access for MRU users. Upon successful authentication with an MRU username and password, users are granted access to the resource. When connecting from an MRU IP range on campus settings may allow users to bypass this authentication process and go directly to the resource.

Databases often indicate the availability of permalinks with a share or chain link symbol  to indicate a link that can be copied and pasted for sharing or reliable retrieval of the resource. Permalinks retrieved from MRU library resources are generally also OpenAthens formatted permalinks, but if in doubt, the OpenAthens link generator for MRU can be used to add the OpenAthens link prefix to a link. Find out more about permalinks from our FAQs.

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is more stable than a web address, and allows for permanent identification of an article or other digital work. 

A URL identifies the location of a work, while a DOI identifies the work itself, ensuring that users can always find an article online by its DOI, even if its location changes, such as when a journal changes publishers or is made available through a new database. A DOI link is a type of permalink that points to a specific document regardless of where it is hosted, while an OpenAthens link provides access through institutional authentication, ensuring the user is authorized to view the resource.

Note: DOI permalinks resolve to the publisher's article record. A DOI permalink may not provide access for MRU users if the journal containing the article is not Open Access and MRU Library does not subscribe via the publisher's platform (or only subscribes via another database or platform). In these cases a URL based permalink will work better.

A DOI typically looks something like this: 10.1016/j.aap.2011.05.001.