Blacksburg, VA—VTLS Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of the Biblioteca de Museum Nacional d'Arte de Catalunya (MNAC) as its 24th customer in Spain.
The MNAC staff will be using the VTLS97 EasyCAT GUI client to catalog all new books while their original catalog of approximately 105,000 titles goes through retrospective conversion. The system runs an eight-user license of VTLS97 OPAC, Cataloging, Serials and Acquisitions and will support over 9,500 patrons. MNAC will use VTLS97 GUI clients rather than dumb terminals for all areas of operation.
Serving as the reference library for the study of Catalunyan art, the MNAC library characterizes what many special museum libraries strive to accomplish. Its collections encompass all areas and epochs of Catalunyan art including, paintings, sculptures, architecture, design, decorative art, drawings, recordings and photographs. The collections represent many types of media such as books, magazines, expositions, catalogs, serial articles, microfilm and CD-ROM.
Art historians and university professors alike seek out MNAC's unique collections. Some of its unique collections include two Incunables, "Chronicales of Nuremberg" from 1493, and a "History of the Roman Empire" from Flavio Blondo (1484). On display at the library are autographs from artists such as Picasso and Clarà y Utrillo and
reference works and books from 18th century architects Vignola, Brizguz and Bru. In addition, they have a collection of magazines corresponding to the noucentisme and vanguard modernist period, which today represents a bibliographic jewel.
MNAC chose VTLS Inc. and its products after studying and analyzing various automation systems for libraries. Their use of VTLS systems will help with their integration into the network of Catalan University libraries and the National Library of Catalunya, all automated with VTLS97.
"We are looking forward to our cooperation with the Biblioteca de Museum Nacional d'Arte de Catalunya," stated Vinod Chachra, president of VTLS Inc. "The library's rich collection of Catalunyan art and its culture along with their professional staff make us proud to be a party of their automation efforts."
The Biblioteca de los Museum Nacional d'Arte de Catalunya was originally named Biblioteca General d'Historia de l'Art. The Museum began at the end of the 19th century when museum technicians began to collect works in an effort to formally study and classify artistic works. The impetus for this original project was to have a showcase of works for the World Exposition in 1888.
In 1906 the library opened to the public and was named the Biblioteca de Arte y Arquelogia. It later became the Biblioteca General de Arte. Then in 1991 the library was renamed Biblioteca de los Museum Nacional d'Arte de Catalunya. That same year the Library separated from the municipal government and formed a branch library named Biblioteca General d'Historia de l'Art.
The Library's mission changed in March 1992 to serve as the main support of investigation by museum researchers, historians, university professors, post-graduate students, and professional artists. These patrons are granted library privileges for five years allowing them to use the services of the library such as OPAC and reference services, and photocopying.