Check Your Links
The Link Checker tool reports broken or unreachable links in the LibGuides system. The tool only checks links in LibGuides assets (links, books, databases). It does not check links embedded in rich text/HTML.
Guide owners are responsible for regularly reviewing and updating the links in the Link Checker report. This helps ensure the content on our LibGuides is accurate and current. The Systems Department will periodically send out reminders about checking links.
How To Use the Link Checker
Getting There
- Log into LibGuides https://usfca.libapps.com/libguides/
- Select Tools from the drop-down menu at the top of the page
- Select Link Checker
At the bottom of the page, you will find a report listing currently broken or unreachable links. You will only have editing privileges for the links you own (unless you are an admin).
Reviewing and Editing Links
Start at the top of the list and and work your way through each link by performing the following tasks:
- Test — Click the URL to open the link in a new window
- Confirm — Make sure the link is still working and still opens the desired webpage
- Content — Compare the name of the link with the content of the loaded page
- URL — Compare the URL on the Link Checker interface with the URL of the loaded page
- Links that redirect to new URLs will need to be updated (note: this does not apply to OpenAthens links or any other links requiring authentication)
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) links that load Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) pages will need to be updated (ex: replace http://repository.usfca.edu/ with https://repository.usfca.edu/)
- Edit — If the link needs to be updated, click the edit icon in the Asset column and update as necessary
Note: You will find that sometimes a reported link is not broken — these are called "false positives" and you can read more about them on the Link Checker page.
Once you have either updated your link or you have confirmed it is not broken, you will need to either dismiss the link or exclude the link.
Dismissing Links
Dismiss links from the report by by clicking the Dismiss icon under the Actions column.
Excluding Links
The Systems Department cautions against excluding links. Although "false positives" can be an annoyance, the Link Checker is still very effective in finding links that are actually broken. Once a link is excluded, it will take longer to identify and correct the URL if it is indeed broken.
Exclude links from the report by clicking the Add Exclusion icon under the Actions column.
