The reasons identified for the integration of digital libraries and VLEs are:

• positioning [...] library information services within emerging e-learning environments" (McLean and Lynch, 2004, p. 1);
• supporting the university faculty and students keeping the same level of quality and an element of flexibility in the new challenge of a seamless integration with VLEs (Sander et al., 2006);
• reducing the lack of consultancy of the library (Cohen, 2001; Markland and Kemp, 2004), or increasing the use of electronic databases and journals and raising the faculty awareness of existing digital library services and resources (Cohen, 2001; Joint, 2006);
• applying a long expertise in selection of good quality information resources, influencing the emergent standards (Cohen, 2001); and
• improving the process of creation, update and use of the reading lists (Secker, 2005 as cited in Virkus et al, 2009).

The benefits that an integration of digital libraries with VLEs represents for the academic community are well illustrated in the use of scenarios by MacLean and Lynch (2004). In those scenarios, the lecturer wants to create a seamless link from the course management system to the library's online holdings and wishes to automatically access resources from other institutions' repositories. The librarian needs to make sure that digital rights are not infringed, the student demands to get a one stop access to all relevant services from multiple sources with support from virtual reference services, and the IT director wants to provide a single seamless interface and login entry to the resources. These scenarios show how an ideal integrated system would meet the needs of the various stakeholders (Virkus et al, 2009).

To achieve such an integration three perspectives were observed. Firstly, a content delivery approach (Akeroyd, 2005), or information resource oriented, which regards the library as information resource provider (Sharifabadi, 2006). This vision of "push[ing]" content into VLEs (McLean and Lynch, 2004, p. 6) predominates. However, these very same authors argue that libraries need to do more than incorporating collections into VLEs (Virkus et al, 2009).

Secondly, there is an approach of content plus service supplying and interaction (McLean and Lynch, 2004). Those services include virtual or online reference, bibliographies and webliographies (Shank and Dewald, 2003; McLean and Lynch, 2004), online library instruction (Shank and Dewald, 2003; McLean and Lynch, 2004), and access to third party commercial information services (McLean and Lynch, 2004 as cited in Virkus et al, 2009).

And, thirdly, an organizational view (Cohen, 2001; Rieger et al., 2004), which includes the library as a whole (collections, services, and educational and managerial perspective) merged with processes and human resources into the academic community and its activities (Virkus et al, 2009).