CHICAGO – June 25, 2005 – At the 2005 Annual Conference of the American Library Association today, Sirsi® Corporation announced availability of its next-generation library user interface, the Sirsi Enterprise Portal SolutionTM featuring Sirsi RoomsTM 2.0. Based on leading industry-standard portal technologies, the Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution is an intuitive, user-friendly environment – similar to popular Internet search interfaces – through which libraries manage and present the myriad information, resources, and services they offer today. As such, the Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution is a powerful, versatile information management platform that brings together a library's various interfaces to create a unified online presence that makes it easy for information seekers to discover content and services, including books in library collections, licensed resources, ILL tools, virtual reference services, RSS feeds, digital archives, calendars, general library information, and more. At the heart of Sirsi's portal offering is Sirsi Rooms 2.0, innovative context management technology that provides librarians with an effective means of gathering professionally organized and contextualized information according to subject areas and then presenting that content in virtual spaces called "Rooms." The Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution and Sirsi Rooms 2.0 will be available in August 2005.

Using the Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution and Sirsi Rooms 2.0, libraries make it easier to discover knowledge, as information seekers have a single interface to all library resources available online. Moreover, library staff benefit from easier maintenance and creation of information portals through a single interface, which can function as the library's online catalog, Web site, and more. The Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution offers the following features to libraries and their users for streamlined access to information resources:

• OPAC and Web site functionality for a cohesive, easy-to-navigate search environment
• Sirsi SingleSearchTM federated search tool
• RSS feed capabilities for all searchable sources
• Reading Room for information about book clubs as well as interesting reading for children, young people, and adults
• Online calendar for promoting library and local events
• My Library/My Room customization functionality for users
• Admin Editing tool to modify colors, logos, and some content modules
• "Audiences," providing targeted information for common audiences (kids, español, business, etc.)

Sirsi Rooms 2.0 gives libraries the following tools to deliver library-caliber information to their users in the context of subject-based virtual rooms:

• Starter pack of 10 content rooms, covering the top areas of interest to public users
• Rooms Builder content management tool for easy updates and content creation
• Rooms content updates to maintain fresh content and give users a reason to return
• "Best of the Web" selections, providing nearly 1,000 hand-selected, high-quality URLs for each room
• Library's Favorite Sites, providing personalized links that your library has chosen for their significance to local users in the community

"Since the Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution and Sirsi Rooms 2.0 were first shown in January," said Angus Carroll, Sirsi's chief marketing officer, "we've been delighted with customer reactions to the product. As librarians grapple with how to best serve demanding information consumers, both those who currently use libraries and those who do not (but could!) are looking for state-of-the-art information management technology that makes them more productive and effective at serving up the information, resources, and services that people need." Carroll added, "That's precisely what we're offering with Sirsi EPS and Rooms 2.0."

About Sirsi
Founded in 1979, Sirsi Corporation develops, sells, and supports a comprehensive integrated suite of software solutions for meeting the information management and sharing needs of libraries and library users around the world. From the open, evolutionary integrated library system technology in the Sirsi Unicorn Library Management System... to leading-edge data analysis and intelligence tools in Sirsi Director's Station... to leading-edge solutions such as Sirsi Rooms 2.0 for library users seeking unparalleled access to the world of knowledge... Sirsi and its partners provide the broadest array of information management products and services for the library community. Sirsi solutions serve more than 10,000 libraries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. For more information about Sirsi, please see www.sirsi.com.

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