Blacksburg, VA ? VTLS announced today the release of VIRTUA Version 43. This

is a major release of the product for a number of reasons: not only does the new version feature extensive new functionality but the development was completed using all new ISO 9001 quality based enhancement, design, development, quality assurance and Beta testing processes.

The new version contains over 250 functional improvements including enhancements to selection lists, NCIP and OpenURL support, User Reviews and Ratings in the iPortal, the ability to save and retrieve serial pattern records in the serials module as well as extensive enhancements throughout the product to support the implementation of FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records). A large number of the improvements were the direct result of customer suggestions fed into the new enhancement process being used at VTLS.

“We're very proud of Version 43 of Virtua,” said Carl Grant, President and COO of VTLS. “We worked very closely with our customers and other interested parties to define exactly what would go into this release and to design it in a way that will result in a superior offering for our customers. This release is a direct result of the changes we've recently implemented regarding our product planning and release, including our newly implemented Beta testing arrangements with our customers to ensure the highest possible quality upon final release. Our customers will see major benefits in the ease of implementation and overall product satisfaction as a result of the revised processes.”

Several customers have already installed Release 43 and very happy with the results and the Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium became the first Release 43 user to fully implement all the new capabilities of FRBR in their production online catalog.