Citation
Starasta, L. (2002), "Portals to the World", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 357-358. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2002.26.5.357.12
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
As its name suggests, Portals to the World serves as a portal to Web sites about nations. The available topics vary slightly from country to country but include areas such as: general resources; business, commerce and economy; culture; education; embassies; geography and environment; government; politics and law; health; history; media and communications; recreation and travel; religion and philosophy; and society. Each topic provides links to external Web sites about the subject and country. In addition links directing users to other appropriate Library of Congress Web sites or personnel are frequently provided.
The site’s straightforward design makes help files and patron training unnecessary. The opening page presents an alphabetical list of the 55 nations currently included. Users select a nation to view the list of available topics, and each topic leads to a Web page of selected resources. Although some links lead to other large Internet sites containing information on many nations, such as the World Travel Guide, users will appreciate that direct links are provided to the information on the chosen country rather than to the suggested site’s home page. The simple point‐and‐click interface makes this site extremely user friendly, but no advanced searching capabilities are included.
An effort appears to have been made to select sites addressing specific topics rather than referring to one general resource multiple times for the same country. On the other hand a single site devoted to world health or recreation and travel may be listed for several nations. Included are well‐known sites such as the CIA World Factbook as well as lesser‐known specialised sites hosted by individuals or societies representing groups within a country. The sites focus on individual countries rather than comparative country data.
The various pages that comprise Portals to the World are attractive and well designed, and many include a map or other graphic representative of the country. Even though each page has been constructed by different Library of Congress area specialists and is unique, there is a noticeable consistency in the layout, text and background colours throughout the site. The home page, each country’s individual page and subsequent topical pages load quickly, but some of the external sites load slowly or are unavailable. Access to Portals to the World is free; however, some of the sites require a fee in order to access all available information or have copyright restrictions.
Portals to the World is a comprehensive resource on nations around the world, which provides easy access to authoritative information for a general audience. Elementary students will find the general resources listed for each country useful but may find the other topics too detailed and specific. Country specialists may find these resources too general for their use. However, high school and university students and other general researchers will find this a very helpful resource for research and personal interest.
This review was first published in Reference Reviews Volume 16 Number 5 2002.