ICV Partners holds majority ownership of SirsiDynix, with Spotlight Equity Partners as a minority shareholder.

Breeding, Marshall. ICV Partners acquires SirsiDynix. February 2015. Smart Libraries Newsletter. A new era in the corporate history of SirsiDynix, one of the corporate giants of the library technology industry, has begun. After over eight years of ownership, Vista Equity Partners has sold SirsiDynix to ICV Partners, with Vista retaining and company executives acquiring minority stakes in the company. While it is too early to assess how new investment owners will shape the direction of the company going forward, it is clear that SirsiDynix remains a major force in the industry with a very large number of libraries relying on its success. SirsiDynix, along with other Ex Libris, Innovative Interfaces, and Follett Corporation, ranks as a giant in the industry, which also includes dozens, if not hundreds, of mid-sized and small companies. Each of these four companies has earnings in the range of $100 million, develops strategic technology products for libraries, though each follows quite different business strategies and has distinct profiles of customers according to type and geographic region. Globally diverse, SirsiDynix supports customers in over 70 countries. SirsiDynix has a long and interesting history that spans many different companies, products, and personalities. This issue of SLN, examines SirsiDynix, working through the phases of its corporate history, its product strategies, and the potential impact of this business transition.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Acquires EOS International. December 2013. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has acquired EOS International from its cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Scot Cheatham effective November 1, 2013. The transaction was conducted entirely from financial resources within SirsiDynix without additional backing from its private equity owner, Vista Equity Partners. The acquisition of EOS International will expand the presence of SirsiDynix in the small library arena, and will strengthen its overall position in terms of revenue, customers served, and product offer ings. SirsiDynix provides a stable and expansive business environment for the ongoing support, development and marketing of EOS International products.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Development Strategies. June 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. In recent years, SirsiDynix has been executing a development agenda that provides libraries with tools and interfaces to improve access to their collections and services. The company continues to make improvements in the functionality of its strategic integrated library systems, Symphony and Horizon, concentrating especially on the development of patron-facing tools. These interface products address the different methods with which patrons might want to access the library: BookMyne and BookMyne+ for iOS and Android based mobile devices, Enterprise and Portfolio for the Web, and the Social Library for Facebook. SirsiDynix has also launched eResource Central for access and management of e-books, complementing the capabilities of its Symphony and Horizon ILS products in managing a library's print collection.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Launches a Native Facebook app, Develops eResource Central. March 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix launched two new products at the ALA Midwinter conference: the SirsiDynix Social Library and eResource Central. These products continue the company's efforts to create forward-looking products and technologies surrounding its ILS products.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Evolution: Recent Developments in the Context of Broad Corporate Strategies. July 2010. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has taken a number of actions that consolidate and focus its corporate resources. On May 12, 2010, SirsiDynix launched a new Web site and announced a number of major changes related to its operating facilities and its organizational approach to customer service. These moves represent incremental steps toward a number of longstanding business goals. The company positions its moves as offering significant benefits to the libraries that use its products through improved communications channels and more sensitivity to the individual needs of each customer. As a company that serves something over 20,000 library facilities spanning over 70 countries worldwide, these adjustments will have a broad impact.

Breeding, Marshall. Developments at SirsiDynix. February 2010. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix, one of the largest library automation companies, made a number of recent announcements relating to both its products and personnel. December 2009 saw the release of new versions of its major products and the departure of a key executive.

Breeding, Marshall. Two major lawsuits jolt library automation industry. December 2009. Smart Libraries Newsletter. In recent months, two major lawsuits have been filed in the the library automationindustry. Queens Borough Public Library filed a complaint on July 2, 2009 against SirsiDynix for breach of contract and 3M has filed suit against EnvisionWare for patent infringement. Both of these lawsuits address interesting issues that bring pivotal libraryautomation legal concerns to the surface. Neither accusation has been proven, and both are still pending legal action or settlement. The complaints filed with the courts stand as public documents exposing the plaintiffs’ concerns in detail. The defendant’s response to those claims may not become public until the issue comes before a court, or may never be disclosed if the parties settle out of court. While major lawsuits attract much attention, they must be considered skeptically until both sides of the matter can be understood.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix launches its Faceted Search Product. August 2008. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has entered the fray of next-generation library interfaces with the announcement of SirsiDynix Enterprise, a search product that features faceted navigation, built using the GlobalBrain data retrieval technology from BrainWare, Inc.. Both SirsiDynix and BrainWare are portfolio companies of Vista Equity Partners.

Breeding, Marshall. Composing a Symphony. November 2007. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has rebranded Unicorn, their strategic ILS product as Symphony. The company indicates that the initial release of the product will be called Symphony 3.2, reflecting its heritage as an incremental extension of Unicorn 3.1, the last version offered under that name.

Breeding, Marshall. The sun sets on Horizon. June 2007. Computers in Libraries. SirsiDynix announced that it had discontinued development of Horizon and would consolidate its future ILS efforts on Unicorn. Events such as SirsiDynix’s decision to consolidate to a single product cause a great deal of uncertainty and disruption for libraries and detract from the trust that’s necessary for a successful relationship between a library and its automation products supplier. SirsiDynix faces a large challenge in shoring up the trust with the Dynix/Horizon half of its customer base. The prompt delivery of truly outstanding replacement products is the only salve that will heal the wound.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix consolidates Its International operations. May 2007. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix took one step in its reorganization following its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners by establishing SirsiDynix International, consolidating all its operations outside North America. Prior to this move, there were separate and often independent sales, support, and administrative operations, including Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. SirsiDynix has a broad international presence, providing library automation software to libraries in at least seventy countries. The international sector is of critical importance to the future of the company. About 25 percent of the company’s customers lie outside the U.S. and Canada. Due to market saturation in North America, the international sector offers the greatest potential market for new sales. SirsiDynix International will be lead by Keith Sturges.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix ILS set on single course. April 2007. Smart Libraries Newsletter. The June 2005 consolidation of Sirsi Corporation and Dynix created SirsiDynix,which stands as the largest company in the library-automation industry. Although many aspects of the company have been integrated, until recently the company sailed two flagship library-automation systems: Horizon and Unicorn. The company’s mid-March announcement hoists a single flagship—marking a significant change in course—based on the company's Unicorn platform. SirsiDynix entered a new phase of its corporate history when San Francisco-based Vista Equity Partners, a private-equity firm that manages about a $1 billion in assets, acquired it. Announced on December 27, 2006, the transaction closed on January 17, 2007. SirsiDynix reported it would consolidate development efforts into a single ILS platform based on Unicorn. Ongoing development on Horizon has ceased. Horizon 7.4 will be its terminal version. Libraries operating one of the SirsiDynix legacy systems—including Dynix Classic, DRA Classic, INLEX/3000, and MultiLIS—will be offered a migration path to Rome.

View all featured content about SirsiDynix

November 4, 2022. SirsiDynix CloudSource+ now offering Get It Now From CCC. CloudSource+, the newest content solution for open access materials from SirsiDynix, has integrated with Get It Now from CCC(Copyright Clearance Center) to provide immediate purchase and delivery of full-text articles to unsubscribed journals. Get It Now is used by hundreds of academic libraries around the world to help expand their virtual collections.

July 5, 2022. London Borough of Haringey joins The Libraries Consortium. SirsiDynix is delighted to announce that the London Borough of Haringey is the latest member to join The Libraries Consortium, a rapidly expanding network of public library authorities in the UK, sharing technology, stock and expertise.

June 8, 2022. Haringey Council joins The Libraries Consortium. The London Borough of Haringey announced that it has joined The Libraries Consortium, a rapidly expanding network of public library authorities in the UK, sharing technology, stock, and expertise. By joining The Libraries Consortium, Haringey library members now gain access to nearly 8 million books. Haringey residents can access books and eStock from across the consortium. SirsiDynix is the incumbent library management service provider.

December 14, 2021. Vigo County selects SirsiDynix as their ILS Vendor. Vigo County Public Library has selected SirsiDynix as their Integrated Library System (ILS) partner. Believing in the power libraries have to uplift and enrich their communities, SirsiDynix is honored to provide services and support for Vigo County Public Library.

December 9, 2021. SirsiDynix and Lyngsoe Systems announce Symphony - IMMS integration. SirsiDynix, provider of the market-leading Symphony ILS and Lyngsoe Systems, provider of smart library solutions including IMMS—Intelligent Material Management System—have signed a collaboration agreement that will lead to full, real-time integration between Symphony and IMMS. This exciting development will enable libraries using the Symphony ILS to benefit from the transformational changes and efficiency experienced by libraries already using IMMS, such as Aarhus and Copenhagen in Denmark, Helsinki in Finland, and Sacramento in the United States. These libraries have seen significant reductions in the amount of staff time focused on material handling, enabling increased focus on delivering exceptional public services.

September 16, 2021. New Mexico State Library selects SirsiDynix as their ILS vendor. New Mexico State Library has selected SirsiDynix as their Integrated Library System partner. Believing in the power libraries have to uplift and enrich their communities, SirsiDynix is honored to provide services and support for New Mexico State Library.

August 4, 2021. Waynesburg University joins CloudSource OA pilot program. Waynesburg University has joined the CloudSource OA pilot program. As the newest content solution from SirsiDynix, CloudSource OA offers libraries access to a comprehensive collection of vetted, quality OA articles, journals, and eBooks, as well as an intuitive discovery to easily organize and display open access materials.

July 21, 2021. Amigos Library Services joins CloudSource OA pilot program. SirsiDynix has partnered with Amigos Library Services to offer member libraries pilot access to CloudSource OA, a new content platform from SirsiDynix that delivers vetted, quality open access (OA) articles, eTextbooks, and eBooks in an intuitive way to library patrons. The CloudSource OA package also includes BLUEcloud Course Lists, which facilitates library collaboration with faculty on affordable learning initiatives that emphasize library licensed and open materials. With seamless learning management system integration, it meets users where they are and ensures easy access to library collections at the point of need.

May 5, 2021. SirsiDynix and EveryLibrary release powerful new advocacy tool. SirsiDynix and EveryLibrary partnered together to produce a new advocacy tool, which was presented at the Customers Of SirsiDynix Users Group Inc. (COSUGI) 2021 conference. The video demonstrates the unparalleled value of libraries to their communities with reputable data, facts, and figures. Libraries can use this video in preparing for or as part of a budget advocacy meeting with local representatives.

April 14, 2021. Surrey County Council joins The Libraries Consortium. SirsiDynix announced that Surrey County Council is the latest member to join The Libraries Consortium (TLC), a rapidly expanding network of public library authorities in the UK, sharing technology, stock and expertise to increase impact at reduced cost. Surrey has 52 libraries serving 1.2 million people and this is part of the Library Transformation Programme improving services for our residents.

Dec 31, 2014 ICV Partners acquires majority ownership of SirsiDynix from Vista Equity Partners
A new era in the corporate history of SirsiDynix, one of the corporate giants of the library technology industry, has begun. After over eight years of ownership, Vista Equity Partners has sold SirsiDynix to ICV Partners, with Vista retaining and company executives acquiring minority stakes in the company.

Nov 01, 2013 SirsiDynix acquires EOS International from Scot Cheatham
SirsiDynix announced the acquisition of EOS International, a California-based technology company that develops award-winning solutions for legal, government, corporate, medical, and other special library customers. With 1100 implementations worldwide, EOS customers will join SirsiDynix customers to create the largest and most inclusive customer base in the history of the library automation industry.

Oct 03, 2011 Bill Davidson named Chief Executive Officer of SirsiDynix
SirsiDynix announced the transition of SirsiDynix Chief Operating Officer Bill Davison into the role of Chief Executive Officer. Matt Hawkins, SirsiDynix departing CEO, will remain involved with the company as an executive advisor and member of the board of directors. Day-to-day operations of SirsiDynix will be assumed by Davison in his new role of CEO

Dec 16, 2010 Matt Hawkins named SirsiDynix CEO
SirsiDynix announced that Matthew Hawkins has been named chief executive officer. Hawkins, the company’s chief operating officer since 2007, succeeds Gary Rautenstrauch, who will remain with SirsiDynix as Executive Chairman.

Apr 28, 2009 President and Founder Scot Cheatham assumes role of CEO
EOS International announced that Scot Cheatham, the company's President serving in a strategic planning role, will assume the duties of the company's Chief Executive Officer from Mr. Tony Saadat, who recently left the company.

Jun 19, 2007 Gary Rautenstrauch appointed CEO of SirsiDynix

Dec 27, 2006 Vista Equity Partners acquires SirsiDynix for $260 million
Vista Equity Partners, a San Francisco private equity firm with about $1 billion under management acquires SirsiDynix from its current owners, including Seaport Capital and HM Partners. Value of the transaction estimated at $260 million.

Oct 2005 SirsiDynix purchases Sirsi Limited for $5.9 million
SirsiDynix acquires remaining shares of UK-based Sirsi Limited for $5.9 million

Aug 01, 2005 21st Century Group closed the merger of Dynix with Sirsi Holdings to form SirsiDynix
In August 2005, 21st Century Group successfully closed the merger of Dynix with Sirsi Holdings to form SirsiDynix, distributing proceeds to its limited partners, while retaining an equity stake in the merged entity. 21st Century Group fully exited its investment in January 2007, when SirsiDynix was sold to Vista Equity Partners. (http://www.21stcenturygroupfund.com/realized1.html)

Jun 01, 2005 Sirsi Corporation acquires Dynix
Sirsi Corporation, with the financial backing of its owner Seaport Capital, acquired Dynix. Dynix was owned by a group of venture capital funds including 21st Century Group, Greanleaf Ridge, and Stratford.

Jan 13, 2005 Sirsi Corporation acquires Docutek for $2.8 million
Sirsi Acquires Docutek Information Systems Inc. Docutek offers Docutek ERes, Docutek VRLplus, and Docutek atSchool products, which serve 550 customer sites

Jun 12, 2002 Jack Blount named President and Chief Executive Officer of epixtech

Jun 01, 2001 Scot Cheatham acquires ownership of EOS International from Dawson Holdings PLC.
EOS International, a California-based library automation company with offices and service centers located throughout the globe, announced that CEO Scot Cheatham has successfully acquired ownership of the company from Dawson Holdings PLC. In an effort to redirect their focus solely on European operations, Dawson Holdings, a United Kingdom corporation, agreed to sell all of its interest in EOS International to original founder Scot Cheatham.

May 17, 2001 SIRSI Corporation acquires DRA for $51.5 million
SIRSI Holdings Corp. announced that McGuire Acquisition Inc. a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of SIRSI, accepted for payment the 4,438,648 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Data Research Associates, Inc. SIRSI also announced that it expects to promptly consummate the merger of McGuire with and into DRA, pursuant to which DRA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRSI Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRSI.

Jan 13, 2001 Patrick Sommers appointed President of Sirsi Corporation
Sirsi Corporation announced that it has appointed Patrick C. Sommers, as president of the company. Jim Young, co-founder steps down as president and will remain the chair of the Board of Directors. Co-founders Jacky Young and Mike Murdock will also step out of day-to-day managment of the company and focus on strategic technology developments.

Jan 2001 Sagebrush partners with Sirsi for Accent
Sagebrush partners with Sirsi to release Accent, a centralized school library automation system based on Unicorn.

Jul 01, 2000 Dynix acquired by 21st Century Group
The Company is the world’s leading provider of library automation systems and software. The Company offers proprietary software along with the necessary third party hardware, software and services to deliver a complete automation solution to its library customers. The Company’s products are adapted for use in all types of libraries including academic, school, public and special libraries, varying from single site operations to large branch systems and consortia. The Company has over 4,000 customers worldwide serving more than 23,000 individual library branches. In August 2005, 21st Century Group successfully closed the merger of Dynix with Sirsi Holdings to form SirsiDynix, distributing proceeds to its limited partners, while retaining an equity stake in the merged entity. 21st Century Group fully exited its investment in January 2007, when SirsiDynix was sold to Vista Equity Partners.

Nov 05, 1999 21st Century Group and Green Leaf Ridge acquire Ameritech Library Systems from South Central Bell
Dynix was Acquired by 21st Century Group in July 2000. South Central Bell (SCB) which recently acquired Ameritech, announced the sale of its Ameritech Library Systems division to a pair of investment companies, the 21st Century Group, LLC, and Green Leaf Ridge Co., LLC.

Oct 1999 Sirsi Corporation recapitalized by CEA Capital Partners
Venture capital fund CEA Capital Partners makes its initial investment in Sirsi Corporation.

Nov 05, 1996 Lana Porter named President of Ameritech Library Services
From Library Systems Newsletter: Ameritech Library Services has named Lana Porter, currently vice president of customer service in the customer business service unit of the parent corporation, as its new president. Porter's experience in the library automation industry includes having been president of LS/2000 from its acquisition by Ameritech in 1990 until its merger with NOTIS in 1992. In addition she has spent, several months as an executive in the Paris office of Dynix. Porter holds an MBA from Ohio State University and has held a number of positions in marketing, operations, and customer service, both at Ameritech and Ohio Bell.

Oct 1994 Data Research Associates acquires MultiLIS
Data Research Associates acquires MultiLIS from Sobeco Ernst and Young.

May 1994 Ameritech Library Systems formed
Ameritech consolidates its library automation business units, combining NOTIS Systems and Dynix Systems which had previously operated independently.

1992 Ultimate Corp sells its stake in Dynix for $2.2 million

Jun 1990 Sirsi UK Limited founded by Peter Gethin and Nick Dimant
Peter Gethin founded Sirsi Limited in May 1990 and has been Managing Director since that that time and served as , Managing Director Europe, Middle East and Africa for Sirsi Corporation.

1986 Dynix Management buys out Eyring Research Institute ownership in Dynix

1979 Sirsi Corporation founded as Specialists in Reliable Software, Inc.
Sirsi Corporation founded by Jim Young, Jacky Young, and Mike Murdock.

Aug 1975 Data Research Associates founded by Mike Mellinger

View Full Product Report

2022 SirsiDynix Accomplishments Narrative

In 2022, SirsiDynix remained focused and made great strides on our two most important initiatives—CloudSource and the BLUEcloud Suite. Below are descriptions of each as well as the progress made this past year.

CloudSource (CloudSource OA and CloudSource+)

CloudSource, introduced in 2020, is a new service from SirsiDynix that enables a library to change its entire approach to managing electronic resources. Using CloudSource the library can improve the customer experience, provide more access across more subjects and save significant money by placing Open Access content front and center rather than using it as a fallback when a paid version is not available.

The CloudSource Platform includes a comprehensive set of tools and services that provides the library with aggregated open and closed-access content; a robust, accessible, and mobile-friendly discovery environment; enriched metadata to facilitate discovery; collection management tools for building focused collections to target the needs of users; granular usage statistics in COUNTER and SUSHI compliant formats; and robust course lists management that seamlessly integrates with learning management systems.

CloudSource+

An exciting new addition to the CloudSource suite of products is CloudSource +. This innovative approach brings all of the benefits and cost savings available in CloudSource OA but expands the index to include non-OA resources. This index is aggregated from thousands of scholarly publishers expected to exceed 200 million items by 2023. If a library wishes, it can rely primarily on OA content to meet patron demand and supplement with targeted, strategic subscriptions, ILL and “get it now” services. This enables libraries to use OA resources to save substantial money while simultaneously providing a superior user experience and increased access to high-quality content.

Both CloudSource OA and CloudSource+ are seeing solid adoption around the world. Importantly, CloudSource products are available to all libraries, regardless of their ILS.

BLUEcloud

BLUEcloud is the next-generation, web-based client for both Horizon and Symphony. The core BLUEcloud modules are CIRC, CAT, ACQ and Discovery. The key benefits of the BLUEcloud suite are: 1) 100% web-based with no desktop client to manage, and, 2) modern, streamlined interface that is familiar to all users thus eliminating the need for extensive training. That’s becoming increasingly important for libraries as they deal with increased rates of staff turnover. BLUEcloud is the idea solution for the modern library with staffing challenges and the need for efficient, powerful interfaces.

2022 saw unprecedented strides in BLUEcloud Circulation. Hundreds of libraries adopted BC CIRC in 2022 and the pace of adoption will only increase in 2023. BLUEcloud Cataloging and BLUEcloud Acquisition are slated to receive significant development resource in 2023 as well.

BLUEcloud Mobile

The SirsiDynix BLUEcloud Mobile app continued to be the best-selling library management app in the industry with over 300 library systems adopting the app for their users. It is available for both iOS and Android devices.

SirsiDynix Customer Support

SirsiDynix customers enjoy our world-class and award-winning customer support. One of the aspects our customers appreciate most is our Library Relations Managers (LRM’s). In 2022 we created and launched a program using the LRM team to ensure we effectively onboard new Directors, Systems Administrators, or other key administrative staff. This includes taking them through a tour of our award-winning service portal, and educating them on the many resources there including the products they have, the products they don’t yet have, and how to get the training they need. We’ve also created a new onboarding site which gives a brief high-level overview and short video introductions by our executives, their assigned LRM, and their Account Owner. As a final step in the onboarding process, we customize a schedule for LRM meeting frequency to ensure they receive timely assistance at the cadence they desire.