FAQ: There is a broken library link in my Brightspace course. What do I do?

Report It

If you find a broken link in your Brightspace course, please report the problem to your professor right away. If the link description mentions Shapiro Library or if it appears to be a library resource (for example, you see ebscohost embedded in the link), please be sure to report it to us as well, either via 24/7 chat or email at ask@snhu.libanswers.com. Please provide us with as much information as possible, including: course name and section, the module where you found the link, the URL of the link you could not access, and the title and author of the resource, if available. We will get back to you as quickly as possible.  

Troubleshooting

Here are some of the strategies we use to try and locate the full text when the link is broken. 

Google Scholar

First, follow the steps in this FAQ: How can I use Google Scholar to find electronic articles held by the Shapiro Library? to link Google Scholar to our library's full text. Next, search for the article title in Google Scholar This link opens in a new window and then look and see if you spot a "FullText@ShapiroLibrary" link on the right side. If so, click that link and see if it leads you to the full text. If not, do you see any other HMTL or PDF links on the right? Try those and see if it leads you to full text.

Link Generator

Try copying the broken link into our link generator. This may correctly format the link with the library's proxy server prefix.

Database Search

If you know the name of the library database where your resource lives (for example, D&B Hoovers, Academic Search Ultimate - EBSCO, JSTOR, etc.), try going to the library's A-Z Database List to access the resource directly.  Use the alphabet near the top/middle of the page to find the database by name, or try one of the available drop downs to see databases grouped by subject (e.g. Business), type (e.g. Open Access), or vendor (e.g. EBSCO). Once you are in the database, run a search for the resource title and see if it comes up that way.