LibGuides: Copyright: Sharing E-Resources

Linking to E-Resources

The StFX Library maintains subscriptions to hundreds of e-books, databases, and journals. For each subscription, the Library signs a license that grants certain permissions regarding how we can use the material. Acceptable use is indicated in the terms of each license, and what is allowed will not be uniform across all subscription licenses. Due to this reason, the preferred method to provide access to e-resources such as journal articles, e-books or videos is to link to the item with a proxy.

To access StFX Library subscriptions (eg. full text of a journal article, ebook, database) off campus, the link has to be proxied. A link containing a proxy or "libproxy" will prompt the person to log in, thus authenticating access to that resource for free through the library.
Note for instructors: You should always use a proxy link when linking to library materials on Moodle, syllabus, etc.

You have three methods:

Method 1: Get the permalink from Novanet

1) From the relevant result in Novanet, on the right side click on the '...'

screenshot of a record in novanet. The arrow is pointing to the ... on the right side

2) Copy and paste the permalink to Moodle

screenshot of an expanded record showing the permalink on the bottom with a box outlining it

Some eBook Platforms like ProQuest will provide you with an option to link to the book. Ensure you check the availability first (eg. 1 user at a time or unlimited.) Every eBook has different availability (even on the same platform, eg. EBSCO eBook platform), restrictions on what you can download, etc. So you need more information about the availability of an eBook, contact your liaison librarian.

screenshot of ProQuest Ebook interface showing copyright information, licensing information and where the link to the book is

Method 2: Add a proxy to the link (automatically)

1) Go to this guide

1) Copy and paste any article URL into the box

2) Click the blue box that says 'Get Proxy URL'

3) Copy and paste this new proxy link (in the green box) to share with students

This new (proxy) URL will prompt students to enter their StFX credentials and authenticate (the same log in info as StFX email).

Method 3 - Manually add a proxy to a link

To proxy any link, simply add the blue text below to the beginning of a url:
https://libproxy.stfx.ca/login?url=

For example:

Unproxied link to an article via JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40651623

(this link will not work off campus)

Proxied link to JSTOR:
https://libproxy.stfx.ca/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40651623
(this link will work off campus)

Finding Permissions for Posting a PDF to Moodle

If you want to post the PDF of the article

You will need to check the copyright and permissions for that journal before posting the PDF to Moodle.

To do this:

1) Look at the record of the article in Novanet à Click on ‘Copyright & Permissions Information’

1B) Check if you can post to a course management system (aka Moodle)

screenshot showing the license terms of use for wiley-blackwell electronic journals. It is showing all green boxes saying yes, and a box is outlining the secion that says yes you can post a copy in a course management system.

2) Sometimes, the copyright & permission link is not listed on Novanet. When this happens, you’ll need to check the article website directly for this information. This information is located in different areas on journal websites, but generally you are looking for a link that says 'copyright' or 'rights and permissions' or 'rights and content'

3) If you cannot locate that information on the website, then contact your liaison librarian or email library[at]stfx.ca