Unidata is building a dynamic, web-based information and collaboration portal. The immediate goal is to provide users with on-line, interactive, collaborative tools designed to extend, broaden, and bring together its user community. A key to making this project successful will be community-based needs assessment and user-centered design.

Our aim is to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration through deployment of topic-centered forums, community directories, and collaboration boards. Click-wrap software access, on-line writing tools, news feeds, and a central community directory are a few of the tools that this highly customizable portal will offer. With cooperation from similar initiatives we will work toward providing a single point of authentication where users can gain access to information and tools, including digital libraries, all within one framework.