The Scholars Portal Project was launched in May 2002 as a multi-year collaboration between seven ARL member libraries and Fretwell-Downing. The project sought to provide software tools for an academic community to have a single point of access on the web to find high-quality information resources and, to the greatest extent possible, to deliver the information and related services directly to the user's desktop.

The ARL Portal Applications Working Group, chaired by Sarah Michalak, University Librarian and Associate Provost, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completed its work in May 2004 with the issuance of the report, The Current State of Portal Applications in ARL Libraries. The report summarizes a survey of ARL members on the application of search engines and other resource-integration tools and services. The report concludes with recommendations for further actions by ARL.

Earlier Reports on the Scholars Portal Project

Scholars Portal Project Report, May 2004

Scholars Portal Project Status Report and Update, November, 2003

ARL Scholars Portal Working Group Final Report, May 2002

Seven ARL Libraries Launch Scholars Portal Project in Collaboration with Fretwell-Downing Inc., May 1, 2002

Update to the ARL Members from the ARL Scholars Portal Working Group
ARL Business Meeting, 139th ARL Membership Meeting, October 2001

Update to the ARL Members from the ARL Scholars Portal Working Group
ARL Business Meeting, 138th ARL Membership Meeting, May 2001

ARL Scholars Portal Working Group Report, May 2001

Scholars Portal: Summary of October 2000 ARL Membership Meeting Discussion

The Case for Creating a Scholars Portal to the Web: A White Paper,
by Jerry D. Campbell, Chief Information Officer and Dean of University Libraries, University of Southern California ARL: A Bimonthly Report, no. 211 (August 2000)