COLUMBUS, OH—October 19, 2005—SirsiDynix announced today a collaborative effort with INFOhio, the Information Network for Ohio Schools, to create SirsiDynix School Rooms, TM a comprehensive and integrated multimedia online discovery portal for K-12 schools. Based on the SirsiDynix RoomsTM content management platform, School Rooms combines teacher-selected, standards-based content with student-friendly software to promote exploration and learning and to supplement any curriculum. Content is accessed through virtual Rooms that help students discover information, provide educators and librarians with access to quality materials, and enable parents to find appropriate resources for improving their child's education. SirsiDynix and INFOhio worked together to identify credentialed educators and librarians, along with interested parents to select, design, test, and certify School Rooms content to meet national and state education standards. Beginning with the launch of a single school district, School Rooms will eventually be available statewide to 1.1 million students in Ohio.

The initial offering of Rooms covers three topics – Earth Science, Parents, and U.S. History – at three different grade levels (elementary, middle, and high school), with plans to add more subject areas in the future until coverage of the general K-12 curriculum subjects is complete. As core components of the K-12 curriculum, with known and objective standards associated with each level, the U.S. History and Earth Sciences subjects were selected for the launch. In addition, the Parents Room is designed to help parents of K-12 students deal with educational issues that they and their children face - including tips on helping with homework, improving study habits, tutoring programs, and motivating kids to excel in school.

To further promote student exploration and discovery, School Rooms integrates multimedia content from Helicon Publishing, leading reference content creator and publisher of the Hutchinson Encyclopedia and Hutchinson Children's Encyclopedia and Dorling Kindersley, internationally acclaimed publisher of the Children's Eyewitness Series, specializing in the creation of high quality, illustrated information books and online resources for children and adults. Drawing on over 15 million words of content from Helicon and Dorling Kindersley, School Rooms incorporates animations, photos, videos, charts, and other images.

"INFOhio is very pleased to work together with SirsiDynix in the development of the 'School Rooms' product," said Theresa M. Fredericka, INFOhio executive director. "We believe this will provide the K-12 community with reliable and authoritative resources for school assignments and research while meeting national and state education standards. It is our hope that students will be able to discover information in a new and more engaging way, teachers and librarians will have access to a variety of high-quality resources from one easy and convenient search entry, and parents will be able to find appropriate resources to improve their child's education. We are committed to our vision of transforming teaching and learning by connecting educational resources with the power of information technology."

"We are constantly looking for new ways to collaborate with our customers in designing innovative solutions that help meet their users' needs," said Angus Carroll, SirsiDynix chief marketing officer. "School Rooms was created as a result of our collaboration with educators, parents, and our customer INFOhio – all of whom understand the challenges K-12 students face in information discovery. With countless electronic resources available to students, the library's task to sift through the clutter that's out there and to present high-quality resources in context becomes crucial to improving education. We believe that School Rooms will help students make sense of the resources at their fingertips – giving them a firm foundation for a lifetime of learning."

About INFOhio
INFOhio, the Information Network for Ohio Schools, a virtual K-12 library, transforms teaching and learning by connecting educational resources with the power of information technology. INFOhio provides educational services that can be linked to student achievement and performance, standards-based instruction, teacher effectiveness and technological competency. INFOhio's components include electronic resources for schools, instructional development for teachers, library automation, media booking, and a statewide union catalog.

About Dorling Kindersley
Since 1974, Dorling Kindersley has published an extensive range of internationally acclaimed adult and children's titles. The UK's market leader in non-fiction, Dorling Kindersley prides itself on creating books that offer comprehensive information and superb design. From gardening to travel, pregnancy to children's reference, DK publishes an extensive range of titles. All subjects offer a wealth of information, presented in highly visual, beautifully designed formats for readers of every age.

About Helicon
Helicon publishes and provides reference material – including the Hutchinson Encyclopedia, the UK's leading educational encyclopedia – on CD-ROM, online and in print. Helicon specializes in electronic publishing, and maintains databases containing over 21 million words, ranging from serious subject reference to quizzes and memory joggers complemented by a multitude of supporting media including maps, illustrations, audio clips, and animations. Helicon's history is one of innovation, consistently marrying content to technology. In 2002 Helicon was acquired by RM plc, the leading provider of ICT software, services and infrastructure to UK schools, colleges, and universities.

About SirsiDynix
Created in June 2005 through the merger of Dynix Corporation with Sirsi Corporation, SirsiDynix provides the broadest array of information management products and services for libraries and consortia worldwide. Both Sirsi and Dynix have had excellent track records as leading information technology providers for libraries and their users, and the new company will build on its constituents' strengths while providing more opportunities for technological innovation and growth. SirsiDynix has approximately 4,000 library and consortia clients around the world, serving more than 200 million people through more than 20,000 library outlets in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please see www.sirsidynix.com.

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