This guide was inspired by and based on Library Resources for Blackboard a guide created by Laura Harris, Online Learning Librarian at SUNY Oswego. Thank you, Laura!
If you've located a resource like an e-book, article, streaming video, or other item from one of the library resources, providing a direct link to it helps students to easily access this item within the context of your online course.
In addition, linking is LEGAL! Copying PDFs or other digital files from library resources and then uploading the file to Blackboard may be a violation of copyright. Providing a link is always the better option!
HOWEVER, there are several things to keep in mind:
When you view an article in a library database, the URL for that webpage is either dynamic or persistent.
Dynamic links = the URL was created at the time you did the search in the database and contains information related to your search. A dynamic link is temporary and usually will not work when copied and tried again. If you provide a dynamic URL to others as a link in Blackboard, they will not be able to access the information. Most of the time, the URL in the address bar will be a dynamic link.
Persistent links will get you to the same source every time. Many vendors do a good job of providing persistent links, but not all. Venders call persistent links other names, including:
For more information please see the Linking Tools page in this guide.
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