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The processes involved in accessing information are essential to the continuous acquisition of knowledge in university environments. Hence the vital importance of studies on the use of the information resources available in academic institutions to enable them to reach their objectives, thereby contributing to the ongoing enhancement of the quality of higher education. A number of statistical techniques, including mapping techniques with multivariate analyses, are used in this paper to identify and highlight the features that characterise the use of the Carlos III University of Madrid Library’s Database Access Services on the campus network from 1997 to 2000. Trends in the use of databases are evaluated and the indicators that typify tendencies and patterns by kind of user are analysed. Certain criteria on the interaction between users, new technologies and electronic information services in the academic networked environment are likewise discussed.

This paper aims to propose the development of formal (scientific content) and informal (content for science communication) educational activities in an inclusive and safe way, involving two essential elements, virtual reality (VR) and the digital library; as well as the implications for its enforcement such as educational strategies in the university setting and for the encouragement of scientific culture in society.

For the integration of content, a simplified conceptual model was designed first, in which universities and research centers are seen as complex systems where different subsystems, from which processes and information resources are derived, converge. To cover the model’s elements, a descriptive documentary review was developed, looking to synthesize each element’s contexts and implications.

The need to establish transdisciplinary relationships between the VR and the digital library is determined with the goal to integrate educational activities using technology, with the purpose of studying contents from the scientific point of view, as well as with the possibility of transforming them into contexts of general access for society, with the objective of social appropriation of knowledge, citizen science and social innovation. In the conclusion section, some implications in the implementation of this type of initiatives are presented.

The aspects that set this paper apart are: treating VR as emerging documents tending to measure their direct impact, not as isolated elements of a collection; identifying the digital library’s social influence actions through VR; and generating processes to encourage the creation of contents with a differentiated focus according to the population served.