There are two steps to providing a link to resources for your students:
Step one: locate the journal article
Step two: generate a link to the resource
The column on the right-hand side provides instructions for step one, locating the article. The column on the left-hand side provides instructions for step two, generating a link.
The first step in providing links to library resources for students is to find the resource yourself before generating a link. Actually finding a resource will involve different steps depending on what kind of resource you want to provide a link for. The boxes below will provide step-by-step instructions for locating online versions of various types of resources.
Journal articles can be found online in a variety of databases that you have access to as a member of the NYU Law community. You can search for articles in a number of ways, including: (1) directly, by citation and (2) searching on Westlaw or Lexis.
We highly recommend first checking to see if the article is available to read for free through an open access source like SSRN, a journal's website, or a law school's institutional repository. You should also check the Bobst Library if you cannot locate a resource using the NYU Law Library's resources.
Looking for a free version.
After years of activism around open access to scholarly works, many recent articles are available for free online.
Go to Google or Google Scholar, and search for the title of the work, in quotations, and the author's name. Results, if any, will likely be from SSRN, the journal's website, and/or the law school's website. When locating articles via Google Scholar, selecting 'All (X) versions' in the entry will generate a list of platforms providing access to the article, including open access repositories.
After you have located the article, proceed to step two, on the right side of this page.
Searching by Citation
1. Go to the Julius Catalog, then select "Find Articles by Citation" underneath the Find Journals & Articles heading.
2. Enter the information from your citation. You must include the journal name. Any other information you include will help the search. After you have entered the information, click "look up." You should be brought to a page with a list of all of the places you can access the article.
3. Click the link to the article on whichever platform you prefer. You may be prompted to log in with your NetID before viewing the resource. After you have located the article, proceed to step two, on the right side of this page.
Searching on Westlaw or Lexis
Westlaw and Lexis provide access to many law review articles. These articles typically are not available as PDFs, so other versions of an article (including freely available articles and those in other law library databases, like HeinOnline) may be preferabble.
1. Log into Westlaw or Lexis.
2. Search for the title of the article, in quotes, in the main search bar. After you have located the article, proceed to step two, on the right side of this page.
Checking the Bobst Library.
The NYU Bobst Library has access to articles and databases, especially non-legal titles, that the law library does not. If your search in the Julius catalog turns up no results, check the Bobst catalog, Bobcat:
1. Go to the Bobst library's website, library.nyu.edu.
2. Either:
3. After you have located the article, proceed to step two, on the right side of this page.
The steps for creating a link to an article on a database vary by database. Below are some general principles followed by specific instructions for the more popular databases. If you have trouble generating a link on a database not outlined below, please reach out to the reference librarians at LawLibRef@mercury.law.nyu.edu.
General Instructions.
Note: do not follow these steps for resources on Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg. These general instructions are to be used for other databases, like HeinOnline, JSTOR, and ProQuest.
1. Find the permalink to the article on the database.*
2. Paste the link to the resource into the document or materials you are providing to your students.
3. Copy and paste the following link in front of the link you just created. There should be no space in between the two links. This is called a prefix or proxy URL. It will anyone who is off-campus to log in with their NetID and password before they can view the materials. (Note: This is no longer necessary for HeinOnline)
http://proxy.library.nyu.edu/login?url=
4. This entire link - the proxy URL and the link to the resource - is what your students need to view the resources. You can copy it and add it as a hyperlink in your document or Brightspace, or leave it as is.
*See note in the troubleshooting box, below.
Generating a Link to HeinOnline
1. Click the link icon in the toolbar above the resource.
2. Copy the permanent link that appears under the label "Access Through Your Institution" as it contains a proxied URL.
3. Paste the permanent link into your document.
Generating a Link to JSTOR
1. On the left side of the page, there will be a Stable Url. Copy the URL.
2. Paste the URL into your document.
3. Copy and paste the following link in front of the link you just created. There should be no space in between the two links. This is called a prefix or proxy URL. It will anyone who is off-campus to log in with their NetID and password before they can view the materials.
http://proxy.library.nyu.edu/login?url=
4. This entire link - the proxy URL and the link to the resource - is what your students need to view the resources. You can copy it and add it as a hyperlink in your document, or leave it as is.
Generating a Link to ProQuest Central
1. Click the circle that says All Options on the left side of the screen.
2. A pop-up box will appear. Click the link at the top of the box. It should automatically copy to your clipboard.
3. Paste this link into the document or resource you will give to your students. You do not need to add any additional links.
Generating a Link to SSRN
1. Click the link button listed on the right side, next to where it says Share.
2. Copy the URL and paste into your document.
Some databases incorporate a proxy link in the middle of a permalink. These links are potentially unstable, meaning they might not work when students click on them. When this happens, you need to remove the proxy link from the middle of the permalink and then insert the proxy link above in front of your new link to make a more stable link. For example:
The link https://doi-org.proxy.library.nyu.edu/10.1080/00048408312350011 is potentially unstable. To create a more stable link, you need to ensure that the proxy URL precedes the permalink:
In the example above, the hyperlink, after being edited, would appear as follows: http://proxy.library.nyu.edu/login?url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00048408312350011.
If you have questions or concerns about this process, please reach out to the reference librarians at LawLibRef@mercury.law.nyu.edu.