SirsiDynix introduces "Rome"

On the heels of its acquisition in January by Vista Equity Partners, and the departure last month of CEO Patrick Sommers, SirsiDynix announced on Tuesday that it is developing a new ILS, code-named "Rome," to be released later this year. According to the press release, the new technology platform will "built on the proven, scalable and extensible architecture of the industry-standard SirsiDynix Unicorn® Library Management System and will include an impressive set of new solutions created as part of SirsiDynix Horizon 8.0/Corinthian development. " A letter sent to current customers confirms that Unicorn GL3.1 will be the last release of the "Sirsi" ILS under the Unicorn name; the next major upgrade for Unicorn sites will be Rome. SirsiDynix will no longer develop the "Dynix" ILS, Horizon.

While this new development should have no immediate impact on MPLIC's implementation of Unicorn GL3.1, the company's decision to use Unicorn as the basis for continued ILS development should serve us well in the future when it's time to upgrade our system.

SirsiDynix acquired by Vista Equity Partners

SirsiDynix announced on December 27 that it will be acquired by Vista Equity Partners, a $1 billion private equity firm that focuses on investing in software and technology businesses. According to Lebron Miles, spokesman for SirsiDynix, there are no current plans to change the SirsiDynix name, and customers are not expected to see any difference in services.

For more details, and some expert analysis:

• SirsiDynix's official press release (PDF format)
• "SirsiDynix Acquired by Private Equity Firm; Service To Remain Same, but Will Costs Rise?" LibraryJournal.com, 12/27/06.
• "SirsiDynix Finds a New Investor," Andrew K. Pace (the "Hectic Pace" blog), 12/28/06.
• "SirsiDynix Acquisition: Another Step for Private Equity Firms," LibraryJournal.com, 1/2/07.

Another SirsiDynix personnel change

Our "SureStart" Consultant, Diane Cunningham, who has participated in several onsite summits with members of our implementation teams, has announced that she is leaving SirsiDynix.

Diane's role in our ILS implementation will be assumed by Pamela Tejes, who was here in August for our Rooms Planning Workshop. Pam will be back onsite for several days in January as well as for our "Go Live" in March.

SirsiDynix Personnel Changes

This week we say farewell to our SirsiDynix Project Manager, Amanda Little. Amanda, who has been our Unicorn Project Manager since October, 2005 (and who has also overseen the EPS/Rooms part of the project since August of this year), is leaving the company for another professional opportunity. We look forward to working with her replacement, Jeannie Peters, for the duration of our ILS implementation project.

Product news from SirsiDynix

Several new Unicorn and Unicorn-related product developments have been announced by SirsiDynix in the October, 2006 issue of the electronic newsletter SirsiDynix OneSource. Among the more interesting items:

• Rooms/EPS Version 2.2 is in the final stages of internal development. Version 2.2 includes many “catalog parity” features with respect to the iBistro interface, including support for “Try These Too” categories, and support for “Find it Fast/Kids Library.”
• Central Search now offers additional search categorization using the Vivisimo Clustering Engine. This search results clustering feature will be included at no extra charge to Central Search subscribers.

News from ALA in NOLA

SirsiDynix announced the 5 winners of its first annual "Building Better Communities" awards at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, June 24. The winners include: Calgary Public Library, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Delaware County Community College, Media, PA; Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Hancock County Library System, Bay St. Louis, MS; and INFOhio, Columbus, OH.

Another public library implementation of the Rooms/EPS public catalog and web site interface was also announced by SirsiDynix on Saturday. The Cherry Hill Public Library in Cherry Hill, NJ, will officially go live on their new system later this summer, but a preview is already available on the web.

MPLIC a finalist for SirsiDynix award

SirsiDynix has announced the 15 finalists for its Building Better Communities Awards, and the Memphis Public Library and Information Center is included in this select group.

The awards are being given to recognize SirsiDynix library customers that have made innovative uses of new technology to improve their user communities. MPLIC's selection is described on SirsiDynix's web site as follows: "The LINC (Library Information Center) service of the Memphis library is a comprehensive community information and referral service for the greater Memphis area. Due in part to the new technologies installed and implemented, LINC now serves as the area’s 2-1-1 provider, which recently served as a vital resource for Katrina evacuees."

MPLIC was selected as a finalist from among 130 nominated libraries by an independent committee of library leaders from throughout Canada and the United States. Five winners will be announced at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, June 24, and will each receive a $10,000 cash award.

Congratulations to Ron Reid and to the entire LINC Department staff for this honor!

News from the 2006 SirsiDynix SuperConference in Nashville, TN

SirsiDynix holds a special conference each year for its ILS customers. At these conferences, users give presentations and hold interest group meetings to share information with their colleagues. Company representatives demonstrate SirsiDynix products and services, other library vendors have exhibits, and more general programs of professional interest are offered as well. Additionally, SirsiDynix executives share information about upcoming new products and changes to existing products, and present the company's overall goals and strategies. Here are a few news items coming out of this year's SuperConference in Nashville:

• With its membership having dropped to below 50, the DRA Users Group has voted to officially dissolve and merge with the Unicorn Users Group.
• SirsiDynix intends to continue to develop and support both the Unicorn and Horizon (Dynix) ILS platforms.
• Some SirsiDynix products will be developed as "cross-platform" products; for example, Director's Station is being adapted for Horizon libraries.
• Sirsi's Enterprise Portal Solution (EPS) and Dynix's Horizon Information Portal (HIP) will be merged into a single portal product. (The EPS/Rooms interface with which we are becoming familiar should not significantly change.)
• SirsiDynix is developing a new Electronic Resource Management product for both Unicorn and Horizon libraries utilizing the technology of another vendor, Serials Solutions.
• This year's release of the Unicorn ILS software, GL 3.1, will include new support for online borrower registration and for accepting credit card payments through the e-commerce company VeriSign.

Image courtesy of SirsiDynix.

Pre-Installation Site Visit -- February 7 - 9

Our Sirsi Unicorn project manager, Amanda Little, will be coming to Memphis Public Library for a three-day Pre-Installation Visit and Consultation on February 7 - 9. The purpose of the visit is to begin discussions about our options for configuring the ILS system parameters, called policies, to make the system software work as well as possible to meet our needs. Amanda will be working with members of the Unicorn Policy File and Data Migration Teams through the three days of her visit.