Library automation company Visionary Technology in Library Solutions, US, has announced that the Slovak National Library in Bratislava and Makerere University in Uganda have acquired the Archives Management System (AMS). AMS, developed in partnership with the National Library of Wales, follows the ISAD (International Standard Archive Description) standard and has advanced hierarchical linking capabilities, which are essential to the success of archive collections.
The Slovak National Library is an existing Virtua ILS customer. They are creating a national catalogue that will integrate all their existing catalogues, including their archives of literature and art (about 1.5 million archival records), into their Virtua database. The full implementation is scheduled for completion in 2009, following the completion of staff training on the system.
Makerere University is also a current Virtua ILS customer. With the purchase of the VTLS Archive Management System they will create an integrated environment for both the traditional collection and the archival collection.
The Virtua Archives Management System gives libraries the ability to catalogue not only individual items such as manuscripts, books, periodicals, pictures, and maps, but also whole archives in a way that makes clear the relationship between the items. The system lets libraries do this via a hierarchical "tree" structure of linked MARC bibliographic records. The tree graphically displays the relationships among all descriptive records in an archive. The AMS claims to be the first system of its kind.
As a fully integrated system with the Virtua ILS, the AMS allows archival material to be found through the same interface as other library materials or records. As a stand-alone system, the AMS is projected as a valuable tool for managing archival material.
