Accessing E-Resources FAQ

Off-Campus Access to Electronic Resources:

Inserting the Proxy String and make TinyURL with a browser button

Need a way to save or send the URL of results from a research database? Normally, when you'd copy and paste the URL, the link would break or wouldn't route you through the library server. Now, you can add a button to your web browser that will create a short URL that you can email or use later, and it will route you through the server.

To add the button to your browser:

Drag this button up to your bookmarks toolbar in your browser:
(or right-click to save it to your favorites toolbar)

A TinyProxy button will appear in your link buttons on the browser toolbar:

How to use it:

Do a search in the database of your choice. Get to the screen you'd like to send (results list, specific article, etc.).
Click the TinyProxy button. This will bring up a TinyURL page that has the URL for the page you were on, with the library proxy prefix in front of it.
Copy and paste the TinyURL into an e-mail, IM, etc. When you click on it, as long as you have MIT certificates, you'll be routed to the article or page of results in the database.

tinyurl screenshot

There may be isolated incidents in certain databases when the button won't work. This will only work if the MIT Libraries have a subscription to the resource. To see what online resources the MIT Libraries have access to, consult Vera.

Problems or questions?

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