Blacksburg, Va. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) celebrated its migration to Virtua ILS - Integrated Library Systems by hosting a Kickoff Celebration for administration and students on March 1, 2001. In addition to going live with Virtua ILS, the celebration activities highlighted the introduction of a variety of VTLS Chameleon Web Gateway Skins, designed by UTC, that allow patrons to put their favorite “face” on the system while searching for information.

“We are truly excited about upgrading to Virtua ILS and the flexibility and dynamism that this system affords us. We wanted to be sure the campus community knew that great things are happening in the library and thought the Kickoff Celebration would be a good way of getting everyone's attention,” said Sheila Delacroix, Director of the UTC library.

At the celebration, UTC showcased designs of multiple VTLS Chameleon Gateway skins, including over 25 colorful desktop themes that play music and also decorate the screen to reflect the season. Patrons may also choose from a variety of helpful research themes like Sociology and Engineering that guide them to resources both locally and on the Web. “The use of both of these sets of skins helps us work toward our goal of making patrons comfortable while they are being informed and guided to appropriate resources,” Delacroix said.

“The VTLS Chameleon Web Gateway skin technology assists libraries by empowering their patrons to find the items of interest easily. A biologist and an architect can use the same system but search from two different views designed with links to information that is useful to them,” says Robert Taylor, Vice President of Operations at VTLS Inc.

The Kickoff Celebration for Virtua ILS and the Chameleon Web Gateway at UTC included continuous system demonstrations at the reference desk all afternoon, a special demonstration for campus dignitaries and drawings for over 25 prizes. The grand prize of the day was the "Relax with a Good Book" package that included a recliner, a best seller, and a UTC afghan.

UTC has been a VTLS customer since 1983 and migrates to Virtua ILS with a 128-user license to access their 350,000-item record collection.