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Library's Proxy Prefix

The Library’s Proxy Prefix is the first part of a persistent link, which allows you to access the resource through the Library’s proxy server. This identifies you as a University of Illinois affiliate, and will prompt you to log-in with your Net ID and password if you are off campus.  The Library’s Proxy Prefix looks like this:

http://www.library.illinois.edu/proxy/go.php?url=

Remote Access to LIbrary Resources

Database Linking

Any time you want to save a link to an article you need to make sure that it is persistent and will work when you try to use it later. Database links in the top of the address bar are not permanent and will not work if you try to use them again. You can create persistent links either by:

  • Creating a URL containing the Library Proxy Prefix and the Persistent Link to the Record or Search.
  • Find the persistent link provided by the database on the article's information page.

DOIs

Some databases, including Web of Science and Scopus, provide DOIs instead of persistent links. “DOI” is an acronym for Digital Object Identifier, which is a unique electronic address assigned to a document in a large central database. DOIs work like any other persistent link you’ll find in a database

An example of a DOI from JSTOR is: 10.2307/1351651, as shown below:

JSTOR DOI example

The easiest way to get back to an article using its DOI is to search for it on the Library Website's Journal and Article Locator.

You can also access an article using its DOI by combing: 1) the Library Prefix, 2) the DOI HTTP string (http://dx.doi.org/), and 3) the DOI itself. It will look like this example: http://www.library.illinois.edu/proxy/go.php?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1351651.

Discover and Full Text

Discover is a tool offered by the UIUC Library. You will see small Discover buttons or links in a wide variety of online resources licensed or managed by the UIUC Library. The button usually looks like this: Button: Discover UIUC Full Text Linking

These links will always bring you to the Discover menu, but their precise behavior is always context-sensitive. In other words, they convey information about the information they’re associated with where you see the button. Typically, this information describes a journal article, a book, or some other citable reference. Discover then interprets that information and presents a dynamic list of services relevant for that citation. When available, one of those services is to provide linking directly to the full text content. Depending on the situation, links to a number of other relevant services may also be provided.

Discover is based on the OpenURL linking standard and Ex Libris’ SFX software, and is managed by the UIUC Library’s Electronic Resource Support Group, a merry band of folks from  IT Infrastructure & Software Development, Acquisitions, and Serials Cataloging.