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Research libraries increasingly seek user-centered customizable library portals. Portal software allows seamless access and delivery of library electronic resources through either proprietary or open source portal solutions. This article examines the implementation of the My Library open source portal software application at the Auburn University Libraries. It addresses the history of the open source movement and its place in library culture, particularly within research libraries. The Auburn University Libraries' experience provides a case study for portal evaluation, selection, and implementation. The article also discusses the future implications of such systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the environmental landscape that will look first at portals within the framework of libraries and then expand that view to the framework within higher education in general. Currently within academic and some public libraries there has been a movement toward portalization of library content, especially online electronic resources. This type of Web access can be thought of in three distinct categories: Customizable E-resource portals, Integrated Web service portals and Metasearch systems that contain portal features. A typical use of portals in libraries is as a framework for presenting customized views of electronic resources. These types of portals serve as aggregators for customers to arrange and display information resources in a manner that best serves their information needs. It also enables customers to pick and choose from countless resources that are provided by the typical research library without having to delve through a catalog of resources or other such electronic listing of information products.