International Scientific Conference eRA-8 ISSN-1791-1133 9 Information Architecture of University Web portal Veselina Nedeva 1 , Zlatin Zlatev 1 1 Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Trakia University, Yambol, Bulgaria Tel: +359 46 669181, E-mails: veselina.nedeva@gmail.com ; zlatin.zlatev@trakia- uni.bg Abstract: A Web portal can be defined as a Web site that aggregates an array of content and provides a variety of services including search engines, directories, news, e-mail and chat rooms. Portals have evolved to provide a customized gateway to Web information [6]. A high level of personalization and customization is possible. We strived to further develop this web concept to function as a sophisticated Web interface that can support the main tasks of academics, namely teaching and research. The Trakia University web portal is presented in this paper, and some specific features, arising from the necessity to provide quality services to the portal users, are shown as well. According to the specific tasks, the web portal has been identified as a part of the developed Integrated Management Information System of Trakia University. Keywords: web portal, student services, academic staff services 1. Introduction Web portals collect large volume of information from various distributed sources and present them to the users. Various portals have been developed for various purposes. Portals are useful as they provide a centralised application to access information from various sources distributed across the Web [4]. The university web portal supports the implementation of the services, which are offered to the students, and is an important tool for the consumers. It allows customization of the information, library and electronic services in both the Intranet and Internet, which are available for all students. The university web portal offers friendly interface for accessing a wide range of resources, which are integrated into single common information architecture. The web portal can quickly turn into a university information center, by knowing the needs and expectations of its visitors and users. Depending on the volume of information sources and their purpose we can use different approaches - one can either construct a common web portal or create various university web portals categorized by subjects. The university web portal offers a web-based collaborative environment for the students, lecturers and all of the people who work in various fields of scientific research. This interactive environment is accessible and easy