Maximizing the research of library resources

We need to be looking ahead -- outside the box -- expanding our horizons.... I know we don't want to be the bleeding edge, but we also need to be more cognizant of the skills of our user base which range widely from rock and chisel to expert electronic multi-tasking. Is there a better way of providing both a learning and a research environment for our students? Can we provide... say multiple portals ... within the constraints of the ACC Web context? Will ACC Content Management be too long in development to provide us with the necessary tools to meet user wishes and needs?

Earlier in the blog article quoted below, she mentions the NCSU catalog we've mentioned before and the Primo product from Ex Libris. NCSU is an in-house product, the like of which would be possible for us with a CMS and some programmer dedicated to library resources. Can't see that happening anytime soon, can you?

From one of Lorcan Dempseys blogs...

We have been used to thinking about the catalog and the integrated library system as at the centre. But as more comes onto the network we are surrounded by many systems to help us do our research, learning and play. This is one reason why I think we have seen a gradual shift in focus over time from database to website to workflow.

And this means that it becomes more important to think about how library resource and functionality play well with the "real design center", the network, and the multiple other network systems that consume the attention of library users. This suggests that we need good ways of solving the many to many issue within the search engines (how do you connect users to resources that they are authorized to use without cluttering the user experience with resources they are not authorized to use), and we believe that the developing OpenWorldCat program is one way of doing this. And it suggests that we need to make library resources more 'service-able' in ways which facilitate their integration with user workflows and other applications.