HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Jan. 30, 1999) - Sirsi Corporation has announced it has integrated the Oracle relational database management system with its popular Unicorn Library Management System. According to SIRSI developers, the new Oracle database management system will be released later this year in conjunction with the latest version of Unicorn, Unicorn99.

John Dickson, director of Software Development for SIRSI, commented, "The addition of the Oracle relational database management system provides Unicorn users with additional flexibility in managing and outputting their library's fixed-length data. Although the Unicorn system already offers hundreds of management reports as part of its standard system, Oracle enables users to manipulate data using SQL (Structured Query Language) capabilities."

With Oracle, Unicorn users enjoy dual database management capabilities, he added. "Unicorn has always provided quick and easy searching of variable length bibliographic data via its powerful full-text search engine. Now Oracle provides libraries with the additional benefit of quick and easy access to their fixed-length data via SQL, in those sites where SQL is the preferred method of data management."

SIRSI also continues to provide and support its Informix relational database management system to libraries that prefer this option, Dickson concluded.

SIRSI is a privately held company with headquarters in Huntsville, Ala. SIRSI uses the most advanced technology available to provide easy-to-use information systems for libraries, businesses and archives. With offices in major U.S. cities and subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, Latin American, the Middle East and the United Kingdom, the company has established its Unicorn products as the leading client/server library information systems in the world.