Web Portals for Librarians

What's a portal and, more specifically, what is a library portal? See Grading the Library Portals by Mick O'Leary. He covers most of the portals listed below.

Internet Library for Librarians . InfoWorks Technology Company.

This portal is "a comprehensive Web database designed to provide a one-stop shopping center for library staff to locate Internet resources related to their profession. It provides links to about 3,000 Internet sites. All the Internet resources that are included in this site have been reviewed. Each entry has a full description of the goals and/or scope of the resource, as well as the contact information if provided. The site is updated monthly. Internet Library for Librarians is categorized into the following sections: Ready Reference, Librarianship, and Accessories."

Internet Public Library Services for Librarians . Internet Public Library (IPL).

"This section of the IPL, 'Especially For Librarians,' exists to supply resources and materials to support the professional development of librarians and information professionals, and to train and inform about the use of the Internet in library and information settings." This site is categorized into the following sections: Issues, Advocacy, Fun Facts, On The Job, News, Library Employment, Libraries Online, Organizing the Web, and Internet for Libraries.

Librarians and Information Science . Suite101.com.

Per Gillian Davis, "at Suite101... you'll find articles, links, and resources pertinent to librarianship and the information professions." See in particular the Links and (Recent) Articles.

Librarians' Resource Centre: The Toolbox . Special Libraries Association (SLA).

This SLA portal is "a selective collection of resources compiled to facilitate our informational research and retrieval." Is is "organized along three major divisions. Section one is dedicated to 'Public Services.' Here are pointers to search engines, topical guides, ready reference and databases on the net. Section two is devoted to our professional development, knowledge management and library literature on the web. Section three covers 'Technical Services.' This section provides guides for cataloguing, internet/intranet web page development tools, scripting, acquisitions sourcing."

Library Land: Index to Resources for Librarians . University of California at Berkeley.

"LibraryLand's focused search engine allows you to search the contents of web documents at major sites dedicated to the practice of librarianship." The following are some of the categories for which a major Web site is described and linked: Automtion, Government Documents, Health Sciences, Web Management, Technical Services, Library Statistics, Serials, Digital Imaging, Ebooks.

Library Resource List . State of Wisconsin.

This site, "part of BadgerLink, Wisconsin's portal to the world of information" is "a portal listing of over 550 Websites divided into the five topical" categories: Reference Sites, Government Sites, Library Sites, Library Technology, and The Library Profession.

LibraryHQ.com: Resources for the Wired Librarian . LibraryHQ.com.

This site is "a web-based portal site for the library profession." See in particular LibraryHQ.com Resources, which includes the following categories: Library Technology, The Internet; Legal Concerns, Library Access; Library Education, Library Development; Library Employment; and Books, Journals, Publishers.

LibrarySpot.com . StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc.

This portal is "a free virtual library resource center for educators and students, librarians and their patrons. Sites featured on LibrarySpot.com are hand-selected and reviewed by our editorial team for their exceptional quality, content and utility." The Main Pages are categorized into the following sections: Libraries, Reference Desk, and Reading Room. See in particular the Librarians' Shelf.

The Researching Librarian: Web resources helpful for librarians doing research . Kerry Smith, Mississippi State University.

"This site was created for librarians--new or experienced--who find themselves needing to perform research. Intended as a supplement to the print and electronic resources available in library collections, this site gathers links to selected web resources useful for research: freely searchable citation and full-text databases, funding information, relevant journals, statistics and statistical methods, useful research tools, current awareness sources, and conference papers and proceedings."