Library Portals and an Evolving Information Legacy

Many authors report uncertainties over the expression Web portal, but nowhere are these more understandable than with library applications. On one hand, the phase library portal is a tautology. In keeping with the traditional role of a doorway to knowledge, much of the library’s Web presence is characterized by portal functions and their continuing role as “trusted” information resources. On the other hand, the library as metaphor appears prominently in the literature of Yahoo, MSN, Google, AOL and other modern innovators to explain their new technologies for personalized information services. Whatever the semantic or construction variations, library portals have emerged as a major presence on the information highway. As presented in the following snapshot from early 2006, this phenomenon is best understood within the context of a historical chain of development—but a chain that is likely to continue to evolve for the foreseeable future.