AMICO Press Release

November 15, 2001
Pittsburgh, PA

The Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) and VTLS Inc. have signed a distribution agreement to deliver The AMICO LibraryTM. VTLS Inc., a leader in client-server integrated library automation solutions, is the latest in a series of providers, announced in recent months, making The AMICO Library available for a variety of user types, from small art institutes to large public library systems, K-12 schools to state universities, at reasonable rates with different functional and interface flexibility. The objective is to make The AMICO Library widely available and provide users with a choice of service providers so they may select one that particularly suits their unique needs.

To begin distribution of their presentation of The AMICO Library VTLS has agreed to be a distributor option for the cooperative purchasing program newly available to Nylink members. Nylink is a not-for-profit membership organization providing services to libraries throughout New York State and beyond. Services include training, support and consulting services for libraries on a broad range of technology-related issues and facilitating group purchasing opportunities to help libraries obtain cost-effective access to electronic information. A preview trial period will be available to Nylink members from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, 2001.

As AMICO's Executive Director, Jennifer Trant, notes, "VTLS is a wonderful addition to our growing provider array. VTLS's existing alliances in libraries worldwide and their multi-lingual capabilities are of great interest to AMICO. We hope these connections will help build links to and added functionality for potential users of The AMICO Library in countries beyond those we currently serve, since this expanded access keeps our Members activated and engaged. As a proven expert in library automation with a keen focus on technology and future-driven solutions without sparing the ultimate user focus VTLS coordinates well with AMICO's own desire to promote technology to widen and deepen educational use of museum collections."

"Our work to process and deliver The AMICO Library has been an exciting challenge. We feel that we have found a great way to allow users to examine and enjoy this visually rich collection," says Dr. Vinod Chachra, President of VTLS Inc. "The Virtua Hi-Resolution Image Navigator seems perfectly suited for displaying this unique collection."

About VTLS
VTLS Inc. (www.vtls.com) is an ISO 9001 registered company. With over 25 years of experience creating smarter libraries, museums, archives and corporations, VTLS Inc. is an international leader in integrated library automation, digital imaging services and RFID technology. VTLS Inc. solutions include Virtua ILS - Integrated Library Systems, Visual MIS - Multimedia and Imaging Solutions and Vista CPS - Companion Product Suite. VTLS is a corporate member of the American Library Association, a voting member of NISO, and a charter member and sponsor of CNI. A diverse customer base of more than 900 libraries located in 32 countries gives VTLS a global perspective of the industry and compels the company to abide by strict international standards.

About AMICO
The Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) is an independent non-profit corporation with 501 (c) 3 designation from the IRS. Founded in 1997 with 23 Members, the Consortium today is made up of over 30 major museums in the United States and Canada. It's an innovative collaboration - not seen before in museums - that shares, shapes, and standardizes digital information regarding museum collections and enables its educational use. Membership is open to any institution with a collection of art.

AMICO Members make annual contributions of multimedia documentation of works in their museums' collections. This is regularly compiled and made available as The AMICO Library to universities, colleges, schools, and public libraries. The 2001-2002 edition of The AMICO Library documents approximately 78,000 different works of art, from prehistoric goddess figures to contemporary installations. More than simply an image database, works in The AMICO Library are fully documented and may also include curatorial text about the artwork, detailed provenance information, multiple views of the work itself, and other related multimedia. "Subscribers find The AMICO Library valuable because it combines the immediacy and accessibility of the Web with the persistence and academic weight of traditional library reference sources," states Ms. Trant.

The AMICO Library is accessible over secure networks to institutional subscribers including universities, colleges, libraries, schools, and museums, and now serves over 1.5 million users on four continents, including faculty, students, teachers, staff, and researchers. Educational institutions may subscribe to The AMICO Library by contacting one of its distributors. These include the Research Libraries Group (RLG), the Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK), H.W. Wilson, SCRAN, and now VTLS. A subscription to The AMICO Library provides a license to use works for a broad range of educational purposes. Potential subscribers may preview a Thumbnail Catalog of the AMICO Library and get further information at http://www.amico.org.

AMICO AMICO Communications Art Museum Image Consortium Phone: (412) 422 8533 Fax: (412) 422 8594 Email: info@amico.org Web: http://www.amico.org

VTLS Krisha Chachra Public Relations Officer VTLS Inc. Phone: +1 540 557 1200 Email: chachrak@vtls.com Web: http://www.vtls.com