NEW ORLEANS, June 25, 2006 - SirsiDynix, the global leader in strategic technology solutions for libraries, and INFOhio, the Information Network for Ohio Schools, announced today the beginning of a project involving 140 librarians and educators in Ohio to create content for SirsiDynix SchoolRooms(tm). Developed by SirsiDynix in collaboration with INFOhio, SchoolRooms is a new online discovery portal for K-12 students, teachers and parents, designed to meet both national and state education standards. SchoolRooms content will be completed in August 2006 to support all subject areas of the K-12 curriculum.
SchoolRooms provides a single, student-friendly interface to high-quality content from the school library's catalog, other public library catalogs, online databases, e-content from publishers, popular Internet search engine results and teacher-selected Web sites. Based on the SirsiDynix Rooms content management platform, SchoolRooms promotes exploration and learning to supplement any curriculum. Content is presented in virtual rooms that help students discover information, provide educators with access to quality materials and enable parents to find appropriate resources for improving their children's education.
The contributing librarians and educators, selected based on their teaching experience and credentials, will divide into teams and participate in workshops this summer to create dozens of virtual rooms for full coverage of the K-12 curriculum, including: Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Additional virtual rooms for Children's and Young Adult Literature, Career Exploration and College Preparation, Literacy and Research, Technology and an Educator's and Library Room will be created as well.
Theresa M. Fredericka, INFOhio executive director, said, "INFOhio is pleased that 140 librarians and educators from 70 schools in more than 52 school districts in Ohio will work together to develop content for the SchoolRooms product. The continued joint product development and enhancements planned for SchoolRooms will help make this a winning product for Ohio's schools and will help INFOhio reach its goal to provide reliable and authoritative resources to students, educators and parents through a state-of-the-art electronic environment. It is our hope that students will be able to discover information in a new and more engaging way, teachers and librarians will have access to a variety of high-quality resources from one easy and convenient search entry, and parents will be able to find appropriate resources to improve their child's education."
Angus Carroll, SirsiDynix chief marketing officer, said, "At SirsiDynix, we see our role as a partner with our clients to create a future in which libraries play a more strategic role within their communities - meeting the real needs of real people by helping them make sense of the vast world of information. The development of SchoolRooms is a great example of our vision in action. Through collaboration with INFOhio and hundreds of librarians and educators throughout the state of Ohio, we have participated in developing this model information discovery solution for schoolchildren. We look forward to the statewide launch of SchoolRooms to help bring learning to life for Ohio's 1.1 million K-12 students."
A successful usability study of SchoolRooms was conducted in partnership with the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science. In addition, a pilot of SchoolRooms was created for Earth Science, U.S. History and parents at the elementary, middle and high school levels in Ohio's Shaker Heights City School District.
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.
About INFOhio
INFOhio, the Information Network for Ohio Schools, a virtual K-12 library, transforms teaching and learning by connecting educational resources with the power of information technology. INFOhio provides educational services that can be linked to student achievement and performance, standards-based instruction, teacher effectiveness and technological competency. INFOhio's components include electronic resources for schools, instructional development for teachers, library automation, media booking and a statewide union catalog. For more information, please see www.infohio.org.