HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Aug. 29, 2006 - SirsiDynix, the global leader in strategic technology solutions for libraries, announced today that the Boston Public Library (BPL) has selected the SirsiDynix SchoolRooms online exploration, discovery and learning portal for K-12 students, teachers and parents. The BPL plans to implement SchoolRooms in October 2006, as part of a five-year agreement with SirsiDynix. SchoolRooms will be available to all K-12 students in Boston, both remotely and in the BPL's 27 branches, through its Web site www.bpl.org. The Boston Public Library is the first public library system to deploy SchoolRooms citywide.
SchoolRooms provides a single, student-friendly interface to high-quality content from library catalogs, online databases, e-content from publishers, popular Internet search engine results and teacher-selected Web sites. Developed by SirsiDynix in collaboration with INFOhio, the Information Network for Ohio Schools, SchoolRooms is designed to meet both national and state education standards.
Based on the SirsiDynix Rooms content management platform, SchoolRooms promotes exploration, discovery and learning all within the context of the K-12 curriculum. Content is presented in virtual rooms that help students find the right information and explore school subjects, provide educators with access to quality materials and enable parents to find appropriate resources for improving their children's education.
"We are very excited to be the first to launch SchoolRooms on a citywide basis," said Bernard Margolis, president of the Boston Public Library. "SchoolRooms helps leverage the many resources available to the K-12 community - books, the Internet and electronic databases - by making them all available in one place, all organized around school subject areas. We think this new resource can make a big difference to students and parents."
Angus Carroll, SirsiDynix chief marketing officer, said, "At SirsiDynix we want to partner with clients like Boston Public Library to create a future in which libraries play a more strategic role within their communities. Boston's selection of SchoolRooms is a perfect example of this type of collaboration, and we look forward to working with Boston to make SchoolRooms even more powerful."
About SirsiDynix
SirsiDynix is the global leader in strategic technology solutions for libraries - vital institutions whose primary mission is to make sense of the vast world of information for people and communities. This is an exciting role as libraries assist people in discovering and using knowledge, resources and other valuable content for their educations, jobs and entertainment. In concert with key industry partners, SirsiDynix supports this strategic role for libraries by offering a comprehensive integrated suite of technology solutions for improving the internal productivity of libraries and enhancing their capabilities for meeting the needs of people and communities. SirsiDynix has approximately 4,000 library and consortia clients, serving more than 300 million people through more than 20,000 library outlets in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please see www.sirsidynix.com. For more information about SchoolRooms, please see www.schoolsrooms.net.
About the Boston Public Library
Established in 1848, the BPL was the first publicly supported municipal library in America, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library and the first to have a children's room. Today, the BPL has 27 neighborhood branches, free Internet access, two unique restaurants, an award-winning Web site www.bpl.org and an online store featuring reproductions of the BPL's priceless photographs and artwork. Each year, the BPL hosts nearly 5,000 programs and events, answers more than 1 million reference questions and serves millions of people in its National Historic Landmark McKim Building in Copley Square. All of its programs and exhibits are free and open to the public.
