MyLibrary: the library's response to the campus portal
| Date | 01 August 2005 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520510617811 |
| Published date | 01 August 2005 |
| Pages | 365-373 |
| Author | Tim McGeary |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
MyLibrary: the library’s response
to the campus portal
Tim McGeary
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose – In August 2004, the Library Collections and Systems team at Lehigh University released
MyLibrary @ Lehigh within the campus portal to the university community. The purpose of this
article is to explain how what began as an integration strategy of the library’s electronic resources into
one complete stand-alone application became the library’s response to the fast-growing campus portal.
Design/methodology/approach – Explains how MyLibrary@Lehigh was developed and
implemented.
Findings – It became evident during its development and integration stages that
MyLibrary@Lehigh would greatly enhance the success and usage of the campus portal. As a
repository of all of the library’s electronic resources, MyLibrary@Lehigh has become the one-stop
shop for the library within the campus-wide, one-stop shop of the campus portal.
Originality/value – MyLibrary has become a clear choice as an open-source solution.
Keywords Data collection, E lectronic media, Libraries, P ortals
Paper type General review
Introduction
In the summer of 2002, the Library Collections and Systems (LCS) team was re-organized
and began to investigate how to present the library’s many web pages and resources more
effectively. Aside from the OPAC (online public access catalog), known as ASA, the
library web site consisted of separate web presentations, such as an A-to-Z list of
electronic journals, a subject-oriented site updated by various reference librarians (known
as InfoDome), and a newly developed database finder. The latest updates of ASA,
InfoDome, and the e-journal list had been completed prior to December 2001 and were in
need of significant revisions. Revision of these resources presented many obstacles,
including their antiquated programming and HTML design, location on multiple (and old)
servers, and little or no connection to the catalog. In response to the needs of our distance
education students and the growing corporate and ISP blocking of our standard-proxy
service for off-campus access, we began searching for a single solution for presenting the
library’s electronic resources to both on- and off-campus users. The enrollment in distance
education has grown in recent years, which has added to the revenue stream of tuition,
but has also challenged our library and technology services group with providing the best
access possible. The solution we chose would have to meet their needs every bit as much
as those of our traditional, on-campus students.
Through our research, MyLibrary became a clear choice as an open-source solution.
The different packages of proprietary software that we reviewed were not flexible
enough to give us control of the interface and presentation, or to provide sufficient
integration with the catalog. The decision to integrate MyLibrary was easy to make,
despite knowing that this would require more time than a commercial solution to get
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
MyLibrary
365
Refereed article received
29 March 2005
Accepted 30 April 2005
Online Information Review
Vol. 29 No. 4, 2005
pp. 365-373
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684520510617811
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