Library Portals John Akeroyd

Portal Definitions Enterprise Information Portals are applications that enable companies to unlock internally and externally stored information, and provide users a single gateway to personalized information needed to make informed business decisions

Definition of a Portal – Gateway that provides a single point of entry to information and tools – Web-based aggregation point – Targeted user groups – “My” homepage – Easy – Accessible from anywhere, anytime Not all web-sites are portals

Functions of Portals Single touch point Content and document management Personalization — Integration — Collaboration — Authenticate only once

Authentication Most enterprise portals provide single sign- on capabilities to their users. This requires a user to authenticate only once. Access control lists manage the mapping between portal content and services over the portal user base.single sign- on Often LDAP Shibboleth for 3 rd part data

Interoperability Defined as: exchanging data via a common set of business procedures, and to read and write the same file formats and use the same protocolsfile formats protocols

Standards JSR 168 is the Portlet Specification Java Specification Request (JSR) from the Java Community Process (JCP). To enable interoperability between Java portlets and Web portals, this specification defines a set of APIs for portal computing that address the areas of aggregation, personalization, presentation, and security.Java Specification RequestJava Community ProcessJavaportlets Web portalsAPIsaggregationpersonalization presentationsecurity

Repository Learning Repository Portal User Repository Research Repository Records Repository Bibiographic User LDAP

Types of Portals Enterprise wide: business University/student/staff Library Subject

Library Portals Access to local resources Access to remote resources Links to other on site services Personalised services Common Authentication

Examples of Portals Library system based – Metafind – Metalib – Encompass Publisher based – Illumina – Scopus Open source – OJAX; Ajax-powered metasearch service – OAIster

Interoperability Service Providers Data Providers Open Archive Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting Figure from Carl Lagoze

Connected Issues Back end management eg access to ejournal data Open URL Harvesting: different model eg OAI Channels, RSS

Problems with Library portals Are thye needed Are they technically viable How easy is it to integrate outputs Can they compete with Google

University Context Student portals Staff portals Expertise and Knowledge transfer See Portal Trends in Higher Education by Brad Englert, Partner, Accenture February 19, 2003

Repository Learning Repository Portal User Repository Research Repository Records Repository Bibiographic User LDAP

Student portals Access – Records of results, marks, – Course content, handouts, papers – Finance/fees – Timetables – Welfare – Library and IT services

Services and Benefits for Students Services – Universities currently have a wide range of student-oriented services View curriculum alternatives Access own records (exam grades etc) Access online library resources/databases – Have further to go in offering transactional services Expected benefits – Highest rated was improved services for current students Expectation gap – Wide-range of services provided by universities may not all be wanted by students – Students want services that are: Easy to use, reliable and fast Customizable Transactional Key Findings: Student Centric

Services and Benefits for Administration Services – Access information such as: University policies/procedures Key grading/enrollment statistics online Student recruiting Information Expected benefits – First and foremost, help staff improve services to students and faculty – Reduce administrative cost – Improve staff environment Key Findings: Student Centric

Current Status of Portal Development Virtually all institutions (96%) are either planning, developing, or have already implemented a portal

Meeting Portal Objectives Most universities have started development Most have a long way to go to meet their objectives – 60% said that their objectives had evolved significantly in the past 2 years Higher expectations Improved technology Four universities met their objectives Key Findings: Evolutionary

Key Reasons for Portal Development Improved service delivery, not cost savings, is the primary reason behind portal development. Top Reasons For Portal Development (Multiple Responses) Maintain alumni network Attract business / research partners Offer distance / flexible learning Engage / connect / build community Enhance university image / raise profile Attract students Improve administration efficiency Offer personalized / customized / targeted service Improve service to students/staff Integrate / streamline information & services Number of universities Key Findings: Improve Service

Challenges in Portal Development Main Challenges in Portal Development (Multiple Responses) Lack of internal expertise / resources Interoperability / legacy systems / integration of decentralized sites Obtaining buy-in from all stakeholders / satisfy diversified needs Other technology problems Security issues / protection of student data Time / speed Over-ambitious goals Cost / budgetary issues Number of responses Key Findings: Improve Service

Implementation and Funding How will universities develop their portal? – 25% believe they are capable of completely ‘going it alone’ – Most universities are using a combination of: in-house resources buying in a number of packages tailoring package to meet their own requirements – Half would consider outsourcing or using an external contractor for portal development How will universities fund their portal? – 60% will increase budgets – 25% budget remain as-is – 15% reduce budgets Key Findings: Tech Led

Summary Five major themes: 1. Portal development is evolutionary rather than revolutionary 2. Improved service delivery, not cost savings, is the primary driver behind portal development 3. University portals’ strong emphasis on serving current students better may risk under serving other key user groups 4. In the main, portals are being technology led rather than user led, with resources first directed to what is obvious and easy- to-do 5. Improving usage among key user groups will be accomplished through multiple approaches Students will use portals if they work well Summary

Portal Futures Enterprise information portals, which connect people with information Enterprise collaborative portals, which provide collaborative computing capabilities of all kinds Enterprise expertise portals, which connect people with other people based on their abilities, expertise, and interests Enterprise knowledge portals, which combine all of the above to deliver personalized content based on what each user is actually doing.