Library Technology Reports Review: Library Portals
Review of:
"How to Plan and Implement a Library Portal", by Richard W. Boss.
Library Technology Reports, vol. 38, no. 6, November/December 2002
Would you like to learn about library portal software? If so, the most recent issue of Library Technology Reports will be of interest. At present, library portal software tends to have four major components:
- A single-search interface (you can search across multiple electronic resources and see the results in a consistent format)
- User authentication (allows access to specific resources based on eligibility rules)
- Resource linking (providing seamless links without time-consuming tasks on the library's part)
- Content enhancement (a specific application of resource linking that provides additional content, which may be available by subscription)
Brief overviews are provided of major library portal developers including: Auto-Graphics, Fretwell-Downing Informatics, MuseGlobal, WebFeat, and Xerox 4. Also described are the products of automated library system vendors that offer portals as part of their systems. These include: Endeavor Information Systems, epixtech, Ex Libris, Gaylord, Innovative Interfaces, Sirsi, TLC, and VTLS. Three collaborative portal projects are described: the ARL Scholars Portal Project, the Agricultural Network Information Center, and the OCLC Public Library Portal. The issue concludes with sample specifications that a library might use in preparing an RFP for library portal software and model instructions for an RFP to bidders. It's always easier to edit and make changes to fit your own environment rather than start from scratch!
PSRML subscribes to Library Technology Reports and makes issues available on short-term loan to staff of network member libraries in the Pacific Southwest Region. Please contact Karen Ricard if you would like to borrow a copy. More information about Library Technology Reports is available at https://www.techsource.ala.org/. JKK