A system for accessing electronic information includes at least one electronic database, a graphical user interface (GUI) and a processing element. The electronic databases can store electronic information, at least a portion of which is contained within a collection of electronic documents. The GUI can display at least one electronic portal document comprising a plurality of graphical elements, at least one of which is associated with at least one pointer that is associated with and identifies at least a portion of the electronic information. The processing element, is responsive to a selection of at least one graphical element and thereafter a selection of at least one associated pointer to thereby select at least a portion of the electronic information. The processing element can locate, retrieve and access selected electronic information based upon the selected pointer and, as applicable, further based upon the predetermined indexing pattern of the respective collection.