Tinyurl allows you to take long web address (URL's) and shorten them into a form that is easier to work with. 

A few instances where you may use Tinyurl would be when using applications that limit the number of characters you can post (Twitter) or ones that can’t handle special characters in the URL's (Prezi).  

Since the American Memory permanent links are often long and uses special characters, Tinyurl can be a handy resource when working with them.

1. Copy the URL you would like to shorten.
2. Go to http://www.tinyurl.com.
3. Paste the URL in the Enter a long URL to make it tiny field.
4. Click the Make TinyURL! button.
5. A new page will open which will display the resulting shorter version of the URL, and a copy of the new URL is copied to your clipboard, so you paste it at your intended destination.

The two URL's linked below result in the same webpage.  The first is a Library of Congress permanent link.  The second is the permanent link shortened by Tinyurl.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hawp:@field(NUMBER+@band(codhawp+00185249))

http://tinyurl.com/ngfkjw 

Try it yourself using the field to the right.

From doiop.com:

" Some web addresses (URL) are very long and complicated. doiop creates for you a short URL with a keyword you choose, making it easy to remember or give away. This link will not break in emails and never expire."

From memurl.com: 

“Memurl creates short, memorable web addresses (URLs) for any page you want.”

From dwarfurl.com: 

“…Just enter your big ole' ugly URL and our little workers will shrink it down to a manageable size!

It's absolutely free to use, and your newly created link will never expire.

You can even enter in a password and see the statistics (how many clicks and where from) for your dwarfURL.”