Main URL

Definition: "A location or a method that resolves the location of the resource." (IMS)
Obligation: Compulsory
Type of element: Free text

Entry guidelines

Entry guidelines: The main URL of the learning and teaching resource itself, or of the page/site containing information about a non-web based resource should be recorded for this element. Any alternative URLs, including any mirror sites are to be described separately. (See below, "6) Secondary URL")

The URL of a resource may be copied from the address bar at the top of the browser window. Please ensure that the link works and that it takes you to the page you intended it to. If this is not the case, try checking the properties of the link you followed to access the page in the first place.

The URL will be used as an identifier for the resource, but will also be used to link to the resource, and therefore should be the URL leading directly to the learning and teaching resource itself.

Where a resource is available in more than one language, please give the URL from which a language choice can be made. It may also be necessary to describe where to find the links to the actual resources from the web page at this level, for which purpose, please use the Description element.

Similarly, where a small collection of resources is being described as a single resource, and is available from a web page which contains other material, it can be difficult to locate the collection being described at that URL. In this situation please give brief instructions for finding the collection within the contents of the Description element.

When a URL is entered by a cataloguer, the database will perform a check to ensure that the entry is unique. If there is a similar record entry already in the database, the new entry will still be permitted, but a warning will appear to the cataloguer. The cataloguer should then check the record of the resource that has a similar URL, to ensure that there is no duplication of resources described by FAILTE.