Power Researcher Challenge

Have you ever cited a web source only to have it no longer render when you or a reader tries to access it at a later time (the dreaded 404 error!)? Have you heard of 'link rot'? It's when websites change, go away, or get taken down, and the original links lead to broken, blank, altered, or even malicious pages. Yikes! 

Never fear! You can use Perma.cc to create a permanent, archived version of a website. Perma.cc will assign a permanent URL to the archived version of the site, making that source accessible to your readers even if the web page goes away. It's a free service created by Harvard Libraries with the goal of long term preservation of web content cited in scholarly sources.

1. Create a free Perma.cc account - this will allow you to test drive the software and save 10 links total.

2. Once logged into your account, enter the URL of a page you want to preserve. Don't have a page in mind? Try this one from the Natural Resources Council of Maine, or this one from Maine Public. 

What does a Perma.cc link look like in action? See this example of a Perma.cc record from the White House home page in 2015.

3. Click the "Create Perma Link" button.

Note: Perma.cc works on Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE10+.

Note: You can delete Perma Links within 24 hours after you create them - feel free to practice with one or two links and then delete them so that they don't take up your initial 10 free links.

• You can add a Perma.cc extension to Chrome or Firefox, in order to archive links as you come across them on the web. Find the browser extension in your account under Settings > Tools. Microsoft Edge users can install a bookmarklet.
• There are many online archiving options - see Wikipedia's comparison chart. However, Perma.cc has added value when compared to tools like the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine in that it provides a more thorough, accurate capture of links in two forms, a web archive file (WARC), and a screenshot (PNG). Perma.cc also provides persistent shortlinks that are cleaner looking and more convenient for citing sources, and it offers researchers the ability to manage their links with folders, annotation, and public/private control. 
• Perma.cc has a helpful FAQ page, https://perma.cc/docs/faq.

Further reading

The following resources help describe the importance of permanent URLs to scholarly citations.

• Kille, Leighton Walter. (2015, October). "The Growing Problem of Internet "Link Rot" and Best Practices for Media and Online Publishers." Journalist's Resource. Harvard Kennedy School. Archived at https://perma.cc/C4LE-VKSE.
• Zeng, T., Shema, A., & Acuna, D. E. (2019, March). Dead Science: Most Resources Linked in Biomedical Articles Disappear in Eight Years. In International Conference on Information (pp. 170-176). Springer, Cham. [access the full text using the URSUS bookmarklet you installed on Day 2!]
• Zittrain, Jonathan, Kendra Albert and Lawrence Lessig. (2014). "Perma: Scoping and Addressing the Problem of Link and Reference Rot in Legal Citations." Harvard Law Review Forum, 127: 176 - 199. Archived at http://perma.cc/NE2Z-TMFK.

You've completed the Power Researcher Challenge!  We hope you found these activities useful and thought provoking for your work at the university and beyond.