Boca Raton, FL - SIRS, Inc. announced today that it will acquire the Mandarin Library Automation System from Melchior Management Systems of Montreal. SIRS and Melchior have been working together under the terms of a joint marketing agreement for the past year.

"Our joint marketing has been so successful that SIRS and Melchior have agreed to fully merge our operations," said Seth Goldstein, SIRS Vice President of Operations.

Melchior's operations in Montreal will retain the same work force under the new banner of SIRS Canada, and will be overseen by Melchior founder and president Harry Chan, who has accepted a position of Vice President with SIRS.

"Our customers will benefit from the new opportunities available to Mandarin under the umbrella of a larger company," Chan said. "SIRS is known for its commitment to customer service. That aspect of SIRS corporate culture, among other striking compatibilities deploy our considerable resources."

The merger takes place at a time when both companies are enjoying considerable growth and financial stability.

Mandarin is a powerful, affordable and flexible library automation system. Consistently rated as one of the best micro-based automation systems, Mandarin has many value-added features that transform the library into an information center.

SIRS is a 22-year-old educational publisher, whose products include the popular SIRS Researcher , SIRS Government Reporter and SIRS Discoverer (TM) CD-ROM databases. SIRS also manufactures and sells stand-alone PC workstations and local area network systems to libraries. The acquisition of Mandarin makes SIRS a "one stop source of library technology," said Goldstein. "We now are able to offer computer hardware, library automation and reference software, together with training and technical support -- to simplify purchasing, implementation and follow-through for our customers."

"SIRS is committed to the technological advancement of Mandarin software, including the additions of Acqusitions and Serials modules, full Internet accessibility and a GUI [graphical user interface] for the OPAC," Chan said. "Also, scoping [simultaneous searching of databases] will permit the searching of SIRS full-text databases through the Mandarin OPAC."

SIRS employs a North American sales force of nearly 50 representatives based in the United States and Canada. Mandarin is widely installed east of the Rockies in the U.S. and across Canada, with a growing clientele in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well. "Working closely with longtime Melchior employees, our goal is to introduce Mandarin to a wider, global market," Goldstein said.