This paper presents a study of the origins and the process of creating and developing the Brazilian virtual library consortium, named the Portal de Periodicos-Capes, which is managed by Capes, the federal agency for the support and evaluation of graduate education in Brazil. The paper describes the main resources offered by the Portal to promote Science, Technology & Innovation (S, T & I) in Brazil and to improve Brazilian graduate studies. Using bibliographical as well as documental research, the authors describe and analyze the trajectory leading to the creation of the library consortium. The work also presents and discusses the evolution of Capes' management of the indicators related to the use of the virtual library by the Brazilian scholarly community. The analyses indicate the importance of this tool in supporting the preparation of high level human resources at the graduate level and for promoting activity in S, T & I in Brazil. The results also reveal that the virtual library assures the quality of Brazilian science by allowing for a permanent confrontation between its development and the scientific output produced internationally. In its conclusion, the article emphasizes the need for maintaining the expansion of the Portal de Periódicos-Capes as an instrument necessary to further promote scientific production in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]