Skip to main content
Skip sub navigation

Building a stable link

Can a link really be unbreakable?

Having broken links in your unit can hinder the student experience and prevent students from accessing the resources you want them to. Creating and embedding stable links will fix this!

What is a stable link?

Stable links (also known as permalinks) are URLs that will always take a user to a specified resource, regardless of login status or location. A stable link ensures that users are authenticated as a Deakin user and are therefore granted access to the resource.

You can identify a stable link by the presence of ezproxy in the URL.

A screenshot of a browser address bar showing an ezproxied URL

It's essential to use stable links in your unit. This ensures that (1) students can access resources from home, (2) students aren’t asked to pay for a resource, and (3) the link won’t break unexpectedly.

How can you create a stable link?

To convert your URL into a stable link, follow these steps:

  1. Enter the DOI or URL for the resource.
  2. Click 'Build link'.
  3. The Link Builder will generate a stable link for the resource. You’ll find that ezproxy has been added at the beginning of the link. Click 'Test link' to ensure it works.

Stable Link Builder

Character limit: 0 / 300

STEP 2: Build stable link

This URL can be copied and sent to students and colleagues. If you want to embed your stable link into content in CloudDeakin – read the guide on linking directly to resources in CloudDeakin, as there is a trick to it!

Note: Some databases will provide ezproxy links already. Look out for the permalink symbol

If you need further assistance, contact your librarian.

Related: Being asked to pay for a resource that you've found via Google?

When you search for e-books or journal articles using a search engine such as Google, you may be asked to subscribe, login and/or pay a fee to access the full text content.

If it is one of the many online resources Deakin Library subscribes to, use our Access via Deakin Library bookmarklet to reload the link via Deakin's proxy server to access the article for free.

Contact us

Get quick answers and tips to get the most from your Library. Contact our library staff for help, support or to give feedback.