PSU Magazine Winter 1993

Welcome to the virtual library The collections of 11 libraries in the Portland area are now linked electronically with each other and with databases throughout the world. new electronic net– work is linking libraries in the Portland area and providing students and researchers with expanded resources. PORTAL , the Portland Area Library System, is a collaborative effort between Portland's colleges, univer– sities, Multnomah County Library, and the Oregon Historical Society. The librarie are linked through Internet, a worldwide system of 3,000 networks; the local network for PORTALS i managed from P U's Branford Price Millar Library. The first capabilities of PORTALS include use of the member library's automated catalogs, on-line access to selected databases, and a new elec– tronic document delivery system called Ariel. New features will be added to the y tern in the coming months and years. Eleven institutions have been work– ing together to create PORTAL : Lewis & Clark College, Multnomah County Library, Oregon Graduate Institute, Oregon Health cicnces University, Oregon Historical ociety, Pacific University, Portland Com– munity College, Portland State Univer– sity, Reed College, University of Portland, and Washington tate University-Vancouver. An official opening ceremony for the new cooperative venture was held Nov. 18 at the PSU Library. "PORTALS is a pioneering examp le of what is beginning to be ca lled, in the 6 PSU information science community, the virtual library," says Millard Johnson, network development director for PORTAL and P U Library faculty member. "No library can afford to pur– chase the millions of books users might want. PORTAL allows our users to access a much larger collection than any one library can own." In addition to catalogs of member libraries, PORTAL provides access to electronic databases containing journal articles and other types of literature. Carl Uncover, which is on the ystem, contains records of papers published in 12,000 journals since 1988. Users of PORTAL , may receive copies of article-length documents through Ariel, a high-speed, document– transmission system. An Ariel station uses a laser scanner to copy documents into a micro-computer. The Ariel sys– tem then compres e the image and transmits it over Internet to another Ariel station where the ystem decompresses the image and print it on a laser printer. The system does not rely on leased phone lines, according to Johnson, and compared to a FAX transmission, Arie l is both faster and cheaper, and the qua lity of copies is better. The procedure for gaining access to PORTALS varies among the member in titutions, but basically, once a user has gained access to the network, a menu is displayed that includes each of the available on-line catalogs as well as the databases on the PORTALS network. When a specific catalog or database is chosen, further instruction appear on the screen. To obtain book or journal article , a user may request them through inter– library loan or go to the library owning them. opies of journals may be requested through Ariel if the request– ing library and owning library are con– nected to the y tern. At this date, articles located on Carl Uncover or through other databa e on PORTAL mu t be looked up in a library's serials list to determine at which library the article is located. Eventually it will be pos ible to determine the location of a journal and order a copy of it while on-line. "PORTAL is still in its infancy," says Johnson. "At this point it is most useful to faculty members with com– puters in their offices that are con– nected to the campus network, or students who can access the system from a library or lab computer. The next level of user is the researcher with a home system that has access via modem to a campus network. "Of course the public library user that needs research level, in-depth, academic information on a subject will also benefit from PORTALS," adds Johnson. The idea for PORTALS was conceived during the work of the Governor' Commission on Higher Education in the Portland Metropolitan Area. Among the commis ion' recommendations was greater re ource sharing by area universities. The Oregon Legislature appro– priated $1 million to begin implementa– tion of PORTALS, and M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust also provided initial funding. It was developed under the direction of the Councils of Presidents, Academic Vice Presidents and Librarians. The next step, according to Johnson, is for PORTALS libraries to as ess their collection a a whole. This will allow joint purchases of certain expensive publications making it possible to maintain a larger overall collection at the ame co t. 0