LEHI, UTAH (January 24, 2013) – Working together to make audiobooks easily accessible to library users, SirsiDynix and Recorded Books today announced a partnership to deliver seamless audiobook access to end users via the SirsiDynix®  eResource Central product. The partnership with Recorded Books was one of the first to be developed for eResource Central and is an important step forward for the project.

“We’ve recently announced a number of exciting content partnerships with some of the world’s leading ebook providers,” said SirsiDynix CTO Talin Bingham. “However, this partnership with Recorded Books is the first to exclusively showcase audiobook content, and demonstrates the versatility of the eResource Central platform and the different types of content it can incorporate and manage. We were extremely impressed with how quickly and effectively they were able to complete the integration.”

Building on previously announced integrations including Project Gutenberg,  Open Library, EBSCO, OverDrive, Baker & Taylor, 3M,  Oxford University Press and others, this partnership enables libraries to integrate their Recorded Books content into eResource Central to provide a simple-yet-robust user experience.

“Recorded Books is extremely excited about this partnership with SirsiDynix,” said Rich Freese, President and CEO of Recorded Books, LLC. “Improving the discoverability and usability of our audiobooks and very soon our eBooks, is a major initiative for our company. eResource Central will allow patrons to find and check out our audiobooks and ebooks directly from a place where they commonly search for library content, the library’s catalog. We think this increased visibility will dramatically increase checkouts, which is a good thing for our company and our authors and publishers.”

Recorded Books is a leading provider of library services around the world, the largest independent producer of unabridged audiobooks and a distributor of ebooks and other digital products and services. Over 25,000 titles for adults, children and young adults are narrated by professional award-winning actors. Recorded Books offers digital database services for downloadable audiobooks and ebooks as well as continuing education courses, software training, online foreign language courses, digital magazines, independent films, and much more.

eResource Central simplifies the discovery and delivery of e-content to users however, wherever or whenever they need it. eResource Central will be available to 100% of both SirsiDynix Symphony® and Horizon ILS customers via the BLUE Cloud clients which include the SirsiDynix Enterprise® and Portfolio™ discovery solutions, as well as through SirsiDynix® Social Library™ on Facebook and the BookMyne™ mobile app. eRC will also be available as part of the new client applications to be shown at this year’s annual COSUGI User Conference. eResource Central bridges the gap between content providers and users, enabling libraries to manage and deliver e-resources seamlessly and cost-effectively, while also handling traditional collections with proven solutions used by more than 3,600 libraries worldwide.

For library users, eResource Central provides simple access to library resources, including audiobooks, ebooks and ejournals, via a single user interface. This greatly simplifies user requests and downloads, regardless of the content format. For libraries and library staff, eResource Central enables cost savings and simplifies the process of delivering content of disparate sources and formats to users by managing licensing and access rights, maintaining MARC records and metadata for library e-resources, integrating e-resource usage into circulation reporting, and even facilitating electronic content acquisition and creation.

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About SirsiDynix

SirsiDynix connects people with knowledge at more than 23,000 libraries around the world. Through library management technology and search and discovery tools, libraries using SirsiDynix technology bring relevant resources and the power of knowledge to their users and communities. SirsiDynix technology is architected to be open, scalable and robust, offering a complete solution out-of-the-box, and unparalleled flexibility through APIs and web services. Complemented by the most experienced training, consulting and support staff in the industry, SirsiDynix helps libraries create tomorrow’s libraries, today. www.sirsidynix.com

About Recorded Books

Recorded Books, LLC, a Haights Cross Communications company, produces and distributes unabridged audiobooks, eBooks and other digital products and services to public and university libraries and schools on CD, Playaway digital players and via a downloadable service. Over 25,000 titles are available for adults, children, and young adults in English and Spanish languages narrated by professional, award-winning actors. Packaging is designed for high circulation. One-year warranty, cataloging, processing, and free MARC records are available. Recorded Books also distributes several education and entertainment database services, educational lectures, and independent films on DVD. For more information, visit www.recordedbooks.com.