What Is a Permalink?

"Permalink" is a portmanteau word made up of "permanent" and "hyperlink." A permalink URL is stable, as opposed to potentially unstable URLs in a browser address bar, which may contain such elements as session IDs, which lead to the address becoming invalid after a while. A permalink can be kept for future use, for example, as an unambiguous reference to a particular title on the library portal Primo. That way, results can be looked up again without having to repeat searches.

Permalink in Primo

The symbol for the display of the permalink pertaining to a certain item appears in the bar with the export functions (see figure). You can copy the permalink into the clipboard and insert it into documents of all sorts by typing CTRL+V.

How Permanent Is a Permalink?

It is, of course, intended to last for ever. However, if data has to be removed from the library portal Primo (when licenses for e-resources are not renewed or when database trials are provided through Primo for a limited time that do not result in licenses), then, following the deletion of catalog data, the corresponding permalinks' destinations have disappeared. Changes of servers can also be problematic, but in almost all cases, they can be managed successfully by setting redirects.

Which Is Preferable for Citations, DOI or Permalink?

A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique and durable digital identifier for physical, digital or abstract objects. It is used mainly for online articles published in academic journals.

For citing electronic documents, use DOIs when possible.

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Example

Title: Schwarz besetzt
Subtitle: Postkoloniale Planspiele im afrikanischen Film
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Publication year: 2012
Pages: 331–362

ISBN (online): 9783839421420
DOI (chapter): 10.14361/transcript.9783839421420.331
DOI (book): 10.14361/transcript.9783839421420