Though not considered a major move back into the integrated library system arena, OCLC PICA, a cooperative of European libraries in the Netherlands, has acquired Sisis Informationssysteme, a small company that produces library automation software. Based in Oberhaching, Germany, Sisis offers a library management system called SISIS-SunRise, which finds use in about 150 libraries. The company also produces SISIS Elektra, a product designed to help implement a portal for an organization. This acquisition strengthens the OCLC PICA operation, adding to its resources in systems development and support.
This move does not necessarily indicate major OCLC interest in getting involved in the integrated library system market. OCLC already has been in and out of that business. From about 1983 through 1989, OCLC operated a Local Systems Division, offering the LS/2000 and LS/2 library automation systems. OCLC entered the ILS business by acquiring software from the Lister Hill Center of the National Library of Medicine and Online Computer Systems, but it exited this market in 1989 when it sold the rights to all its library automation products to Ameritech Corporation.
Given OCLC's previous history in the ILS arena, the acquisition of Sisis Informationssysteme strikes a chord of interest.
