Information portals: casting a new light on learning for universities

Underpinning growth of the higher education sector is an efficient, modern library service. If the academic library profession is to avoid becoming sidelined by Google‐type search engines and commercial database services, then they must offer a Web presence that delivers relevant, quality approved and personalised access to resources and library services – irrespective of format and location. Many institutions are investigating information portals to secure the library’s technological future. Why? Because information portals can integrate library‐quality resources in any format – physical or digital – and allow them to be searched, located and delivered speedily and efficiently. Information portals can also offer a seamless channel to a choice of content delivery options including OpenURL citation linking, electronic and physical document delivery.