DENVER (March 16, 2001) Sirsi Corporation has announced the formation of LINK, a new division of SIRSI chartered to focus solely on the unique needs of leading academic and research libraries and their users worldwide. The new LINK software configuration just launched by the new division includes fully integrated software suites for an electronic library, e-searching, bibliographic record content enrichment, digital media archive, interlibrary loan, document delivery, universal system interface, and Z39.50 Bath Profile compliance, as well as the usual integrated library system subsystems for circulation and technical services.
LINK is headed by two library technology industry veterans, Chuck Leachman and Mark Moorehead, who together have a total of 35 years working with academic libraries throughout the U.S. They announced the new division on Friday, March 16, 2001, at the Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in Denver, Colo.
According to Patrick C. Sommers, SIRSI president, “LINK targets the academic library's end-user: the student, the faculty member, the researcher. With the vast body of knowledge now available in electronic form, the library must provide the leading-edge technologies necessary for its users to locate, assimilate, and make use of the information they need. LINK is therefore centered around iLINK, a scholar's portal to electronic information and knowledge everywhere. We believe that LINK provides the technologies that academic and research libraries need to assert true leadership in the electronic information age.
SIRSI has teamed with other leading companies in the library industry, including LibraryHQ.com, LTI, netLibrary, Northern Light, and Syndetic Solutions, to provide iLINK content, such as MARC-cataloged Web sites; book reviews, tables of contents, and excerpts; and access to e-books and online journals. “These alliances give LINK libraries a variety of options for the seamless integration of both local and external information with campus and internal library systems, operations, and networks,” Sommers added.
LINK is the newest division of SIRSI, the leader in library technology since 1979. It delivers advanced software and services for leading academic and research libraries around the globe. By providing the industry's most complete library management infrastructure and unique solutions for capitalizing on the power, speed, and versatility of the Internet, LINK and its clients are changing the way the world shares knowledge.