VTLS Introduces Archives Management for Libraries

Blacksburg, VA - VTLS Inc. announces archives management functionality in releases 48 and 49 of the Virtua software. A result of a partnership to enhance functionality with the National Library of Wales (NLW), this new addition allows the library to arrange existing archival collection materials and maintain these collections in Virtua.

Archival cataloguing differs from bibliographic cataloguing because archives, unlike most printed material, cannot be described in isolation. An archive may consist of hundreds - or even thousands - of items and all these items will relate to one another and to the body that created them in many different ways. An archive is, therefore, only fully comprehensible through the understanding of both its content and its context. Content may be explained through description, but context can only be reflected by arrangement.

"Many libraries, including the National Library of Wales, hold substantial archive collections which require different descriptive standards from printed materials. The National Library's new Information Management System allows for integrated searching of the Library's large archive collection. Although the current service needs further enhancement, we are delighted that VTLS is pioneering this new development and trust that libraries and other memory institutions throughout the world will benefit," says Andrew Green, Librarian of NLW.

Present in Virtua cataloguing through the use of a multilevel description system, the archival arrangement is ordered by the core levels outlined by the General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G)):

• Fonds
• Sub-fonds
• Sub-sub-fond
• Series
• Sub-series
• Files
• Items

Frequently in archive cataloguing there are gaps where not all levels are defined in all collections. A method had to be developed to allow for gaps to be accurately defined and displayed. Working closely with the experts at the National Library of Wales, VTLS was able to extend its FRBR implementation in Virtua to develop a new subsystem to handle these special needs. This system is now in production at NLW.

"The partnership with NLW was very rewarding," says Dr. Vinod Chachra, CEO of VTLS Inc. "VTLS was interested in providing a more general solution to hierarchical cataloging needs and wanted to take into account the possibility that more levels could be described in the future or in other applications. We were able to work with the librarians and archivists at NLW so that the specific needs of an archival system were met while allowing for other possibilities. We are pleased with the results that work for NLW and for VTLS."

The features were also designed in such a flexible manner that libraries that wanted the functionality without conforming to the seven-level architecture could use the software. VTLS' archival management has other key features of interest including

• Easy creation of and insertion into the hierarchy of child or parent records
• Printable record trees
• Filling gaps in the hierarchy
• Hierarchical display of records

VTLS Archives Management will be demonstrated at the VTLS booth at ALA in Anaheim, booth 1858.