PURL Assignment for Cataloged Materials
The PURL is for use on the catalog record instead of the actual URL. There is a PURL server at FCLA available to us for registering Permanent URLs (PURLs) that will always forward to the actual location of an Internet resource so long as we maintain the correct URL on the server. This enables us to give permanently functional Internet addresses in OCLC, our local catalog, and anyone else’s catalog that might use our record. The Internet address for the PURL server at FLCA is: http://purl.fcla.edu
Our PURL administrator (Rich Bennett) sets up and maintains accounts permitting us to use the PURL server. Userid’s have been established and consist of lastname_firstname. (For example: smith_john) Please contact Rich when additional staff need PURL accounts.
Establishing your PURL password:
After clicking on the link to the PURL server above, click on "Modify PURLs, subdomains, groups, users"
Then click on "Modify a users information"
Then enter your userid and the temporary password "changeme"
Then click on "Continue"
Enter your chosen password in both blanks provided and a "hint" that will remind you of your chosen password.
Click on "Modify". Click on the verify button, and your new password should be established.
Once you have established your new password, please make a note of it precisely for use whenever you need to establish or maintain a PURL. It is case-sensitive.
When to Make a PURL:
PURL creation is required for University of Florida publications on the Internet that we catalog. It is optional for such publications of a local or state-wide focus. If the work is about the University of Florida or is about the local area or State of Florida and does not already have a PURL established, give consideration to creating a PURL. When in doubt, create the PURL. As an important exception, you should not create a PURL for PALMM Project resources since FCLA will be creating and maintaining them for us.
Keep in mind that PURL assignment is a commitment to maintaining a correct URL on the PURL server but does not imply ownership of the resource. When choosing whether or not to assign a PURL, remember that the material was selected for inclusion in the library collection and, therefore, is considered important for our users. Assigning and maintaining a PURL insures long-term access to the electronic version via our local catalog and OCLC through simple maintenance of the URL on the server rather than on each separate database.
How to Make a PURL:
Create a PURL for each URL using the FCLA PURL server at: <http://purl.fcla.edu/> and replace the URL in the 856 field with the PURL.
Suggested PURL style: follow the common portion of the PURL with only the first few words of the title, deleting spaces and capitalizing each word and following with the appropriate extension (e.g., .html, .jpg, .pdf). Initial articles should be removed. Other articles and prepositions within the title may be removed. Portions of the title or keywords from the title may be used in place of the exact title. Alternatively, standard or series-related numbers may be used. If needed for uniqueness, add another word, year and/or other distinctive term. Total length of the PURL should not exceed 30 characters. The goal is to have brief text, which easily identifies the material and is unique.
It is recommended to first bring up the Internet resource on the browser, then copy the URL from the top of the screen. Then connect to the PURL server, log in using your userid and password, and paste the URL into the window of the PURL registration form. Keeping the PURL server webpage in your “Favorites” is also helpful. If you do enter an erroneous URL, it will become evident when you check the link before confirming the PURL. Then you can copy the PURL from the window and paste it into your catalog record in the 856 subfield u.
Examples:
Title: Poisonous plants around the home
http://purl.fcla.edu/UF/lib/PoisonousPlantsAroundTheHome.jpg
Title: Gone with the wind
http://purl.fcla.edu/UF/lib/GoneWithWind.jpg
Title: The alphabet book
http://purl.fcla.edu/UF/lib/AlphabetBook/1888.pdf
Title: The life and adventures of Peter Wilkins
http://purl.fcla.edu/UF/lib/PeterWilkins.pdf
Title: An appraisal of certain aspects of the reading program of the rural elementary schools of Madison County http://purl.fcla.edu/UF/lib/AppraisalReadingMadisonCounty.jpg
Standard number:
http://purl.fcla.edu/UF/lib/1111-1111.jpg
When you create a PURL you should include two secondary maintainers in the PURL registration: 1) the Database Maintenance Unit (use “catmain”) and 2) your unit head. Unit heads may rotate the second secondary maintainer assignment among their unit members.
It is routine to correct a URL on a PURL registration if there is an error or if the actual URL changes. Our Database Maintenance Unit routinely identifies which URL’s no longer work and reports them to us, so we do not need to worry about manually checking them ourselves. The person who created the PURL and cataloged the item has primary responsibility for creating the URL on the PURL registration, but if that person is no longer available the secondary maintainers will be able to substitute.
For more information about PURLS and URN’s in general, OCLC has a good introduction and links to further information on PURLs on their website at: http://purl.oclc.org/OCLC/PURL/SUMMARY
Indexed: PURLs UF
Prepared by: Jimmie Lundgren, October 12, 2001
Last updated: November 21, 2002
