Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507110001
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CHRISTIANSBURG - The Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission has a new member on its board of directors and will soon have a second new face.
Ira Long, a member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, resigned because of other duties. Supervisor Jim Moore will replace him.
Abdul Turay will also resign his post on the board at the end of this month. Turay, head of the Economics Department at Radford University, has accepted a new job as a dean at Southern Illinois University. Radford University also has not yet named a replacement.
Directors, who advise the supervisors on economic development initiatives in the county, can serve as many as two 4-year terms.
VTLS unveils new computer system
BLACKSBURG - VTLS has unveiled a prototype of a library computer system that introduces ``a new era of library automation,'' company officials said.
The system ``goes really beyond anything that has been seen in our industry so far,'' said Ari Palttala, director of marketing. He said the prototype was well received at the annual conference of the American Library Association two weeks ago. ``It's really superior to any of the other systems available in today's marketplace,'' he said.
VTLS designed the computer system used in Virginia Tech's libraries and has sold systems to libraries around the world. Tech and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte will test the new system during the next year, before it becomes available for delivery in summer 1996.
The VIRTUA system has a number of features of interest to both library patrons and library operators.
Patrons will find the new system offers multimedia capabilities and can search for texts in many languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean, as well as other non-Latin based languages. The system also provides for more ``patron empowerment,'' a mantra in library circles. With VIRTUA, users will be able to check out books on their own, without standing in line and having an employee perform that task for them.
The benefits for libraries include cost savings and a more efficient use of computers and people. VIRTUA can access large volumes of data quickly and cleanly from separate computers, and the system is flexible enough to accommodate changing needs, company officials say. Libraries may see cost savings of 30 percent or more, VTLS says.
CIT moves office
BLACKSBURG - The regional office of the Center for Innovative Technology has moved to quarters at Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center.
The office moved from its location at New River Community College to Tech to be closer to the research and development occurring at the university.
``This is an effort to consolidate as much as we can,'' said Jim Stewart, CIT regional director.
The two-person office moved June 13.
by CNB